Boko Haram Raid Kills Dozens In Northern Nigeria

Witnesses said attackers in military camouflage opened fire on villagers in Konduga, in Borno, and set houses ablaze.

Boko Haram fighters have killed 39 people and razed scores of homes when they stormed two villages in northeast Nigeria, firing indiscriminately on fleeing civilians, a state governor and witnesses have said.

Heavily armed groups in trucks attacked a mosque, markets and government buildings in a massive assault on Konduga village in the troubled state of Borno on Tuesday.

State governor Kashim Shettima said 39 people were killed in the raid, the latest in a series of attacks in Borno,  the epicentre of a gruesome rebellion that has killed thousands of people across northern and central Nigeria since 2009.

Another four people were killed on Tuesday when gunmen opened fire in the village of Wajirko, also in Borno.

Wajirko resident Adamu Maude said the attackers destroyed around 50 homes, adding, "we lost four people in the attack and six more have been taken to hospital".

Boko Haram has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north.

The southern half of the oil-rich country, Africa's most populous, is mainly Christian.