At least 16 people were killed, according to residents in the state of Zamfara who AFP spoke to. The human rights organization Amnesty International also alerts about the incident and puts the death toll at 20 people.
The military has been deployed on several occasions to combat criminal gangs that terrorize communities in northwestern and central Nigeria through raids on villages where residents are kidnapped or killed.
The gang that was to be confronted on Saturday evening had taken away livestock and burned homes in the village of Dangebe, whereupon the villagers called around to nearby communities and asked for help, according to eyewitnesses.
The group was on its way back to their villages after chasing away the bandits who attacked Dangebe when the fighter jet bombed them, says local resident Sa'idu Ibrahim.
This is not the first time Nigeria's military has made similar mistakes. Last December 25, two villages were bombed in raids targeting jihadists in the nearby Sokoto state, resulting in civilian casualties. In December the year before, at least 85 people were killed in a religious gathering when the military mistook them for bandits.
