Boko Haram militants on foot kill several in northeast Nigeria

A militant attack killed at least nine civilians in Nigeria's Borno state, a local official told AFP on Friday, in the latest bout of violence in the country's northeast.

Boko Haram fighters sneaked on foot into the village of Gajibo Thursday evening, opening fire on residents and engaging a militia fighting alongside troops, said Rawa Gana Modu, political administrator of Dikwa district.

"The Boko Haram insurgents killed nine people," in the shootout, including two civilian militia members, Modu said. "Several others" were injured, he added.

Troops from Dikwa town, six kilometres (nearly four miles) away, deployed and helped push the militants out of the village, he said.

Intensified attacks

Boko Haram and rival militant group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have in recent months intensified attacks on civilian and military targets in Borno and neighbouring Adamawa and Yobe states.

Modu said the militants lost 10 men in the shootout with troops before they were pushed out of the village.

Both groups have raided several bases, killed troops and carted away weapons from their attacks.

They have also carried out deadly raids on communities where they looted homes and shops before burning them.

The militants have also killed farmers and fishermen, accusing them of spying on behalf of authorities.

Foiled attack

Thursday's attack came as the military said on Friday it had killed 16 militants in a foiled attack on a base in the town of Damboa, also in Borno state and 180 kilometres from Dikwa.

The attack was "repelled" and the militants were forced to retreat after two hours of gunfight, with troops assisted by fighter jets, the military said in a statement on X.

Nigeria's 16-year conflict has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes in the northeast, according to the United Nations.

The violence has spilled into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to fight the militant groups.