MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Suspected Boko Haram militants riding motorbikes stormed two villages in northeast Nigeria, killing at least 20 people, a local official said on Wednesday.
The assaults are part of a surge by Boko Haram and its Islamic State splinter ISWAP, who have stepped up deadly attacks on military bases and villages in Nigeria’s insurgency-hit northeast.
The gunmen raided the villages of Pubagu and Mayo-Ladde in the states of Borno and neighbouring Adamawa, respectively, on Tuesday afternoon after overwhelming local vigilantes, said Mada Saidu, chairman of Askira-Uba district, where one of the attacks occurred.
At least 11 people were killed in Pubagu and nine in Mayo-Ladde. Homes and shops were torched and food supplies looted, Saidu said.
Islamist militants have waged a 17-year insurgency seeking to carve out an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, killing thousands and displacing at least 2 million people, aid groups say, despite major military campaigns to root them out.
This attack represents a significant escalation in the insurgency, with the militants employing motorbike raids that overwhelm local defences before security forces can respond.
The local vigilantes, who serve as the first line of defence in remote villages, were outnumbered and outgunned, according to officials familiar with the attack.
Regional military commanders have been briefed on the incident and reinforcements have been requested, though the terrain and poor communications infrastructure often delay response times.
Nigeria’s armed forces have been battling the insurgency since 2009, losing thousands of soldiers while the conflict has created a humanitarian crisis affecting millions across the northeast.
International counter-terrorism experts say the recent surge in attacks suggests a shift in militant tactics, with smaller, faster-moving units conducting raids before retreating into remote forested areas.
The Nigerian government has maintained that the insurgency is being degraded, but attacks continue to occur with disturbing regularity, particularly in Borno and Adamawa states.
Local communities continue to bear the brunt of the violence, with thousands displaced from their homes in recent weeks as the attacks spread to previously unaffected areas.