Gunmen kill 12 in attack on Nigeria military base in northwest: Security sources

Gunmenhave killed12Nigeriansecurityforces members in a weekendattackonamilitarybaseinnorthwestZamfara state, before stealing weapons and torching buildings, twosecuritysourcessaid Monday.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the Saturday raid in Mutumji, but the army is engaged in operations in Zamfara against armed criminal gangs known as bandits who are blamed for a series of mass abductions.

Telecommunications have also been cut in Zamfara and in parts of neighbouring state Katsina in an attempt to disrupt bandit communications about army movements during the crackdown.

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"The attackers stormed thebasearound 10:30 am and engaged the troops in a fierce gun battle," onesecuritysource said.

"They subdued the troops and killed12of them. They included nine navy, a soldier and two policemen."

A secondsecuritysource confirmed the casualties.

Thebasein Mutumji, Dansadau district, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the state capital Gusau, is a key site for logistics and reconnaissance in the army's fight against bandits in the area.

Jihadists inNigeria's northeast frequentlyattackmilitarybases in Borno State, the heart of a12-year insurgency that has killed 40,000 people.

But large, heavily armed criminal gangs who raid villages and kidnap for ransom in thenorthwestand central states have also become more brazen.

In July, banditgunmenshot down an air force jet over Zamfara while it was returning from operations. The pilot safely ejected and managed to escape capture.

Gunmenalso attacked the country's elite defence academy innorthwestKaduna State last month, killing two officers and kidnapping another in a raid in one of the symbols of the armed forces.