Gunmen have killed at least 40 people in an attack on the Binnari village in northeastern Nigeria’s Taraba State after Friday prayers.

The attack was carried out by a large group of armed men, who opened fire in the village and looted shops on Friday, the Nigerian police said in a statement on Saturday.

Amnesty International reported the death toll, saying the fatalities rose after additional bodies were recovered.

The police had initially confirmed 10 deaths, while survivors told AFP that at least 20 people had been killed. “After the attackers left, we counted more than 20 bodies, and some people were still missing,” Binnari resident Sa’idu Nuhu told the agency. Another resident, Isiyaku Musa, also put the death toll at at least 20.

Residents said the gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday prayers.

Malam Abubakar Saifullahi, a community leader, told AFP that the assailants arrived on approximately 50 motorcycles, with two men on each motorcycle, before raiding the village.

“They looted shops and took cash, foodstuffs, and other provisions. They also took motorcycles abandoned by people fleeing the attack,” he said.

The attack has raised criticism of the Nigerian authorities and the security situation facing rural communities in parts of the country’s north.

Authorities “continue to leave rural communities in some parts of the north at the mercy of gunmen that are repeatedly committing atrocities with impunity,” Amnesty said.

Northern Nigeria has experienced repeated attacks by heavily armed gangs commonly known as bandits.

The groups raid villages, abduct residents for ransom, and steal livestock, while also targeting rural communities in areas where the police and military forces face difficulties operating across remote terrain.

In rural areas with limited state presence, armed groups have also imposed so-called taxes on farmers and miners.

Nigeria is separately battling Takfiri terrorism that began with the 2009 onslaught by Boko Haram.

Separately, the Nigerian military said on Saturday that it had killed 15 people it described as “terrorists” in an airstrike in northeastern Borno State.