Suspected militants kill seven, kidnap 22 in Nigeria
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Two separate militant attacks target northeast Nigeria's Borno State.
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Nigerian military ride on their truck as they secure the area where a man was killed by suspected militants during an attack around the Polo area of Maiduguri, Nigeria, on February 16, 2019 (Reuters)
Seven people were killed and 22 others were kidnapped in two separate attacks in northeast Nigeria's Borno State where militant groups operate, security sources and residents confirmed on Saturday.
On Thursday, three farmers were killed and 11 others were abducted by suspected so-called Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants near Bulayobe village close to the town of Banki, the sources said.
The farmers had gone 10 kilometers (six miles) outside Banki to clear fields in preparation for the planting season, with the annual rains expected in days.
"Eight armed ISWAP men rode into the fields on four motorcycles and rounded up 14 farmers clearing the farms, taking them away," said Usman Hamza, a militia leader fighting the insurgents alongside the military.
"Later, a search team recovered three of the farmers' bodies with gunshots on them while the remaining 11 farmers are still missing," he confirmed.
On Monday, 15 loggers went missing outside the town of Gamboru in an area where Boko Haram militants are active.
Four bodies were recovered in the bush the following day while the whereabouts of the remaining 11 remained unknown, said Umar Kachalla, an anti-jihadist militia member in Gamboru.
Boko Haram and their rivals ISWAP often target loggers, herders, farmers, fishermen, and metal scrap collectors, accusing them of spying for the military and militias fighting them.
The attacks underline the continued risk that civilians face in rural areas, more than 14 years since the insurgency began.
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