Residents said 18 people were killed on Sunday morning after gunmen loyal to a notorious bandit kingpin, Damina, attacked Kango and Dangulbi villages in Maru Local Government Area in Zamfara.

Residents from the communities said yesterday that people who fled the attack were yet to return.

Maru Local Government is a hotbed of banditry in the state.

The 18 victims were buried according to Islamic rites after the attack, a village leader, who pleaded anonymity, said.

Another source, Shehu Ismaila, a resident of Maru town, said 13 people were killed in Dangulbi while five were killed in Kango.

Mr Ismaila said the bandits attacked Kango first before moving to Dangulbi where they killed some of the residents working on their farms.

“Six people were killed outside the community while the remaining seven were killed inside the main village. Those killed were early risers who were possibly trying to do some work on their farm before returning home to continue with the Sallah celebrations,” he said.

A resident of Dansadau, Yusuf Abdullahi, said his sister-in-law almost got caught in the attack when she went to spend the Sallah holiday in Dangulbi community with her aunt.