KANO: Boko Haram jihadists razed three villages in northeast Nigeria in attacks that killed two people and injured several others, civilian militia and residents told AFP Sunday.
The jihadists arrived in trucks to attack the neighbouring villages of Dala-Melari, Fuguri and Femari villages, six kilometres (3.8 miles) outside Borno state capital Maiduguri.
"The terrorists fired indicriminately and forced residents to flee," said militia leader Ibrahim Liman.
Liman blamed fighters loyal to Boko Haram factional leader Abubakar Shekau for the attacks. "Two people were killed and several injured. They completely burnt the villages after looting food supplies," Liman said.
A resident, Modu Malari, said the jihadists invaded the villages around 10:00 pm (2100GMT) and "spared nothing". "They stole all our food and burnt all our homes. They killed two of our men," Malari said.
The attacks came hours after the jihadists hacked to death a dozen farmers working on their fields in Kalla village, five kilometres away.
Liman blamed the same jihadists who killed the farmers for the village raids. In recent days Boko Haram militants have increasingly attacked civilian targets in the region.
On Thursday, they looted and burnt a village in northeast Borno state after fighting off soldiers protecting it, a local official told AFP The jihadists believed to be loyal to Shekau invaded Kalli village outside the town of Damboa, 89 killometres from Maiduguri.
"The terrorists attacked the village and forced residents and troops to flee after a fight," a local official of Damboa local government said.
"They looted food and livestock and set the village on fire, burning it completely," said the official speaking from Maiduguri.
Kalli lies on the fringes of the jihadists' Sambisa forest enclave from where the militants launched the attack, according to a civilian militia assisting troops in fighting the jihadists.
Boko Haram's nine-year violence has killed 27,000 people and displaced two million more, creating a dire humanitarian crisis.
The conflict has spilled into Nigeria's northern neighbours --- Chad, Niger and Cameroon.