Gunmen kill 17 in Nigeria

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Abuja: Seventeen people have been killed following an attack by unidentified gunmen in Nigeria`s Zamfara state, police said.

The incident happened in Magami village of Faru district in the Maradun area of Zamfara. State police spokesman Muhammed Shehu on Sunday said more police officers have been deployed in the area to prevent further attacks, Xinhua reported.

Several state officials, including the acting governor of Zamfara, Sanusi Rikiji, attended the funeral of some victims of the massacre on Sunday.

Zamfara, as well as the neighbouring Kaduna state in Nigeria, has witnessed a series of onslaughts by gunmen in the past six months.

Earlier in the year, the Nigerian government had deployed troops to the two states to forestall attacks. 

Hundreds of people have been killed by the gunmen in attacks in Zamfara alone this year.