Gunmen on Wednesday killed 11 people in two separate attacks in Nigeria's Kaduna state, the government said, in the latest violence in an area wracked by cattle rustlings and kidnappings. In the first attack early Wednesday, the gunmen known locally as bandits, invaded Ungwan Gaida village in Chikun district, killing eight people, said Samuel Aruwan, the state internal security commissioner in a statement. "Eight residents have been confirmed killed in this attack", Aruwan said, adding that a church and "several houses" were burnt in the incident. Aruwan said on the same day three herders were killed by bandits who invaded Marraban Jos village where they also stole an "unspecified number of cows". Northwest and central Nigeria have been terrorised by gangs of cattle thieves and kidnappers who raid villages, killing and abducting residents as well as stealing livestock after looting and burning homes. The gangs have recently targeted schools where hundreds of students have been abducted since December. The gangs are largely driven by financial gains and have no ideological leanings but there is growing concern that jihadist waging a 12-year-old insurgency in the country's northeast are infiltrating their ranks. abu/joa/pvh