Boko Haram in deadly raid on Nigeria town

Boko Haram fighters killed several people and destroyed dozens of homes in a raid on a town in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, local residents, a vigilante and the military said on Sunday.

Scores of Islamist militants in trucks and on motorcycles stormed the town of Gubio, 95km by road north of the state capital, Maiduguri, on Saturday night.

"Boko Haram invaded our town last night and killed many of our people and burnt more than half of the town," resident Babor Kachalla, who fled to Maiduguri following the attack, said.

"We all fled into the bush amid volleys of bullets and rockets. We lost many people in the attack because the gunmen overpowered the soldiers guarding the town," he added, without specifying a death toll.

Another resident, Adam Kakami, said the attackers, who were dressed in military uniform, withdrew after six hours.

"We stayed in the bush from where we could hear sounds of guns up to 03:00 (02:00 GMT) when the shooting stopped but we could see fire from all over the town," he added.

"We decided not to return and moved towards Maiduguri because we were afraid they would return."