16 killed in central north Nigeria attack

Nigeria's military confirmed on Friday the death of 16 people in an attack by cow thieves on Pandadi, a village in the central north Plateau State. Special task force commander Major-General David Enetie confirmed the death toll to Xinhua by phone from his base in Jos, the state capital, adding that the cattle rustlers launched the deadly attack on Thursday morning. According to the commander, members of the task force rushed to the scene of the incident and killed five of the suspected cattle rustlers. Enetie said the cow thieves rustled 20 cows but could not escape with their loot after the military intervened. Plateau State is situated in Nigeria's middle belt where the Muslim-dominated north and the Christian-majority south meet. The state capital Jos was plunged in a pool of blood on March 7, 2010, when members of local Muslim and Christian communities fought each other in revenge for previous killings.