Armed gangs have killed 13 security personnel, including two policemen and 11 vigilantes, in Nigeria's northwestern Zamfara state in the latest violence in the region, a lawmaker and residents told AFP on Sunday.

The armed gangs called bandits by locals have, for years, attacked communities in northwest and central Nigeria, raiding villages, kidnapping residents and burning homes after looting them.

Bandits in large numbers stormed Adabka village in Bukkuyum district late on Friday and kidnapped some residents, the sources said.

They laid ambush and opened fire on a team of policemen and vigilantes pursuing them to free the abductees.

Residents flee village

"The bandits killed 13 people in the ambush, including 11 vigilantes and two policemen," Hamisu Faru, a lawmaker from the area said.

"We are still unable to retrieve the bodies because the bandits are staying put in the bush," Faru said.

Aminu Adace, a resident of Adabka who gave the same toll, said many residents fled the village for fear of renewed attacks.

Adabka and nearby communities have been repeatedly raided by bandits who maintain camps in nearby forests, forcing residents of several villages to desert their homes, Faru said.

Peace deals breached

"These forests harbour more than 5,000 bandits who continue to cause a security threat on our communities," Faru said, insisting that aerial bombardment was the only effective way of smoking out the bandits.

Federal and state authorities have over the years signed several peace deals with the gangs only for the bandits to renege and resume attacks.