Nine people were killed on Friday in attacks on two health centers where medics were conducting anti-polio vaccination in Nigeria's northern city of Kano, local police reported.

State police spokesperson Musa Majia told Xinhua that the gunmen, who came on tricycles, shot dead three women in the Fijin Kashu area of the state and injured three others. Another group of gunmen attacked the Hayen Hotoro health center, killing six other women working as anti-polio vaccinators in the northern state.

"No arrests have been made so far, but the security agents have cordoned off the area," he said, declining to give further details on the attacks.

Commissioner for Health in Kano State Abubakar Labaran also confirmed the killing to Xinhua and expressed regret over the incident. "It is sad that the gunmen attacked people working for the progress of the state," he said.

The state official said part of the health center in Hayen Hotoro was torched by the bandits attempting to destroy the building.

The raid on Friday morning was the second this month, after unidentified attackers targeted a police division in Kano State, killing a police sergeant and another person.

Last month, the state government banned motorcycles, following an attack on the convoy of the prominent northern leader, the Emir of Kano Ado Bayero. At least four people were killed in the assault.

Kano State has witnessed waves of violence often claimed by the militant sect of Boko Haram. Thousands of people have been killed in northern and central parts of Nigeria since the sect launched insurgency in 2009. Endi

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