20 killed in Boko Haram attack on Nigeria village

At least 20 residents of a remote village in northeastern Nigeria were killed when gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram launched an attack, a military source said Monday.

Casualties of Sunday's attack on Kamuyya village of Biu local government area, located in the southern part of Borno state, might go up as survivors continue to count their losses and villagers comb nearby bushes for more dead bodies, Xinhua reported citing the military source, a high-ranking officer who requested anonymity.

He said the attackers stormed the village in an open van and opened fire on the villagers, mostly peasant farmers and petty traders.

"It was a carefully planned attack which we had no inkling about. No one alerted us," added the source.

Two months ago, the Boko Haram in a message threatened to unleash terror on the village community, noted the source. Security was beefed up in the area to thwart further attacks, following Sunday's deadly strike.

On May 5, at least 200 people were killed in a similar attack in a border town in the same northern state, when Boko Haram fighters, dressed in military uniforms, attacked Gamboru, a remote town on the Nigeria-Cameroon border.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is currently grappling with security challenges, one of which is the insurgency of Boko Haram, a sect which seeks to enforce the Islamic Sharia law in the constitution.