Langtang South committee chairman Nanman Garko said men believed to be Fulani herdsmen attacked Tarok farmers in reprisal for cattle thefts in the area some 200 kilometers from state capital Jos.
Community leader Salihu Jauro denied the attackers were Fulani though his people are angry about the theft of 300 cows by suspected Taroks.
The Fulani are Muslim and the Taroks Christian but violence here is a complex mix of religion, tribe, politics and land rights. Thousands have been killed since 1999.