At least 18 people are dead after armed men rampaged through a village in northern Nigeria, attacking people with guns and machetes.

Local police said Sunday that a group of 150 assailants descended on the village of Lingyado in Zamfara state. Reports from the area said the attackers went door-to-door, shooting or slashing their victims.

Police said they believe the assault was retaliation for an attack on another village in the area in August. Authorities have sent troops to Lingyado in an effort to restore order.

Communal clashes stemming from cattle rustling or political differences are not unusual in Nigeria.

The radical Islamist sect Boko Haram has been blamed for dozens of attacks in Nigeria's north, but police gave no indication the group was involved the deadly raid.