Death toll in attack by gunmen in Nigeria rises to at least 160

The Red Cross said at least 162 people have been killed by gunmen in Nigeria’s western Kwara state, one of the deadliest attacks in the country in recent months.

"Reports said that the death toll now stands at 162, as the search for more bodies continues," said Babaomo Ayodeji, Kwara state secretary of the Red Cross, updating an earlier toll of 67.

The strike late Tuesday came after the military recently carried out operations in the area against what it called "terrorist elements".

Police have confirmed the attack without providing any casualty figures. As the search for bodies continues, the death toll is expected to rise.

A local lawmaker in the Kaiama region, Sa'idu Baba Ahmed, says the gunmen stormed the village of Woro at about 6 in the evening, setting shops and the king's palace on fire.

He says the traditional king's whereabouts remain unknown.

Kwara state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, condemned the attack as "a cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells following the ongoing counterterrorism campaigns in parts of the state".

Nigeria is plagued by an interlinked security crisis. Armed gangs, known locally as bandits, operate in swathes of the country looting villages and kidnapping people for ransom.

Jihadist groups are active in the north-east and north-west, while intercommunal violence is prevalent in the central states.

The Nigerian military has intensified its operations against the jihadists and armed bandits, regularly claiming to have killed huge numbers of fighters.

It has faced intense scrutiny in recent months after US President Donald Trump claimed a "genocide" of Christians was taking place.

This has been rejected by the government and independent experts, who say Nigeria's security crises claim the lives of both Christians and Muslims, often without distinction.