ABUJA, (Xinhua) /Flowerbudnews: – More than 40 people were killed by a group of gunmen who attacked a village in central Nigeria’s Plateau State late Monday, local officials and media said on Tuesday.

Dozens of gunmen riding on motorbikes stormed the Zurak village in the Wase Local Government Area on Monday night to wreak havoc, killing “as many as 40 people,” Musa Ibrahim Ashoms, commissioner of information for Plateau State, told reporters in the state capital of Jos.

Many others were injured in the attack, as the gunmen fired indiscriminately at residents, The Nation Newspaper reported, citing local sources.

The gunmen also set fire to houses during their rampage, according to local media reports.

Armed attacks have been a major security threat in Nigeria’s northern and central regions, resulting in deaths and kidnappings.