At least 30 people were killed by a dozen assailants on motorcycles in an attack on two villages in northwestern Nigeria, security sources said.

“The bandits killed 21 people in Tsauwa and another nine in nearby Dankar,” said Gambo Isah, spokesman for the Katsina police. “Most of those killed are elderly and children who were unable to flee.”

Houses were burnt down as well as cattle and food before fleeing.

An armed gang last week burnt to death 21 people, including 16 members of a single family, in a reprisal raid in neighboring Kaduna state to avenge a vigilante attack on their hideout.

Police and soldiers deployed in the area after the attack and arrested one suspect, Isah said.