Terrorists have killed at least five worshippers and wounded three others in a reprisal attack on a mosque in northwestern Nigeria's Kebbi state, according to state-owned News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The attacks came late on Wednesday after Lakurawa terrorists were killed in a "failed ambush" on a military convoy, the police spokesperson in Kebbi Bashir Usman told NAN.
"The attack was a reprisal by suspected Lakurawa terrorist elements following a failed ambush on troops of the Nigerian Army attached to the 8 Division," Usman said.
Members of the Lakurawa terror group opened fire on the mosque in Dadin Kowa village in Maiyama local government on when worshippers were observing evening prayers.
A security report seen by AFP said 10 worshippers were killed in the attack.
Significant security threat
The security report said the attacks in Maiyama local government "emphasises the group's intent to expand towards the east of Kebbi before military operatives can assert intensified counterterror efforts in this region."
Nigeria's government said the Christmas day air strikes by the US military in Sokoto had targeted members of the group and "bandit" gangs.
The Lakurawa group is an armed organisation active in northwest Nigeria with affiliations with the Daesh terror group and linked to militant networks in Mali, Niger, Sokoto and Kebbi states.
Lakurawa have emerged as a significant security threat in recent years, carrying out deadly raids on rural communities, rustling livestock and imposing informal control in parts of northwest Nigeria.
