Boko Haram killed 10 people in three separate attacks in northeast Nigeria, in the latest violence against civilians in the restive region and on the eve of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to the country.
On Tuesday, four loggers were killed when they stepped on a landmine left by the militants near Dikwa, 90 kilometers east of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.
The four had gone to retrieve a vehicle abandoned the previous day following a Boko Haram ambush that left three dead.
"Four people died yesterday (Tuesday) just outside Dikwa as a result of an explosion from a mine planted by Boko Haram," Babakura Kolo, a militia leader in Maiduguri, told AFP.
"They were among a team of loggers who were attacked by Boko Haram on Monday while on their way to the bush to collect firewood under security escort.
"Three loggers were killed in the attack while the rest fled to Dikwa and left behind a pickup van."
Another militia leader, Ibrahim Liman, gave a similar account of the incident.
Also on Tuesday, three people were killed in Gamboru on the border with Cameroon, said Umar Kachalla, a militia leader who is based in the town.
He said the attackers sneaked into the town on foot.
"They slaughtered their first victim in the Kasuwar Shanu area and looted his provision store before moving to Fulatari area where they shot dead two residents," he said.
The motive for the killings were unclear, he added.
Tillerson flew to Africa on Wednesday at the start of his first diplomatic trip to the continent to bolster security alliances.
He is scheduled to visit several countries, including Nigeria and Chad, both major oil-producers struggling to contain Boko Haram’s nine-year insurgency which has killed at least 20,000 and forced some 2.6 million others to flee their homes.
