Eight killed in suspected Boko Haram attack in Nigeria

At least eight people were killed in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants on a village in Nigeria's restive Borno state, a media report said.

The militants raided Pompomari area, about 187 kilometres south of the state's capital Maiduguri, Xinhua quoted an army source as saying.

"They slaughtered people... In all, nine people including the village head, were killed," a resident said on Friday.

The Islamist group Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in Borno, the hometown of newly-appointed Nigerian army chief, Major General Tukur Buratai.