Boko Haram kill 150 people in Nigeria

Nearly 150 people have reportedly been killed by suspected Boko Haram Islamist militants in attacks in Nigeria's north-eastern Borno state.

The BBC reports eyewitnesses saying the gunmen stormed the village of Kukawa near Lake Chad on Wednesday evening, killing 97 people, including women and children. In addition, on Tuesday, the militants shot dead 48 men after they had finished prayers in two villages near the town of Monguno., an area recently recaptured from Boko Haram.

The AFP news agency quotes an eyewitness, Babami Alhaji Kolo saying that ocer 50 militants gad stormed Kukawa on Wednesday.

"The terrorists first descended on Muslim worshippers in various mosques who were observing the Maghrib prayer shortly after breaking their fast," he said.

"They... opened fire on the worshippers who were mostly men and young children.

"They spared nobody. In fact, while some of the terrorists waited and set most of the corpses on fire, others proceeded to houses and shot indiscriminately at women who were preparing food," he said.

Earlier this year, at least 23 people died in the same town last month after a confiscated Boko Haram bomb exploded during celebrations to mark the successful military operation against the Islamist group.

Amnesty International estimates that at least 17,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since 2009, when Boko Haram launched its violent uprising to try to impose militant Islamist rule.