Gunmen opened fire on a cattle market in northern Nigeria late Wednesday, killing at least 34 people while burning it to the ground.

The attack in the city of Potiskum left more than 20 people injured. Scores of livestock were also killed, stolen or maimed.

Witnesses say the attack followed an earlier incident where the gang sought to rob traders at the market. One of the robbers was caught while trying to escape and burned to death.

The gunmen returned later that night shooting indiscriminately at the market and throwing explosives.

Radical Islamist group Boko Haram is blamed for dozens of attacks across the north. But cattle raids in the region are common, and it was not immediately clear who was responsible for this latest one.