Boko Haram jihadists killed 10 civilians in attacks on three villages in restive northeast Nigeria, local security officials said Monday.

Leader of a government-backed anti-jihadist militia, Mr Babakura Kolo, told AFP that the insurgents carried out the assaults on Sunday.

Kolo said they raided the village of Kurmari, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from regional capital Maiduguri, killing four residents as they slept.

The attackers did not use guns so as not to attract troops in a nearby town, said another militia member, Mr Ibrahim Liman.

The area has been the target for repeated suicide and gun attacks.

Elsewhere, sources said jihadists burned three people alive and hacked a fourth to death in another village on the outskirts of Maiduguri, also on Sunday.

Two farmers were also killed as they tended their fields and several others abducted close to the city.

Boko Haram fighters have stepped up attacks on farmers as they work in their fields.

The jihadist conflict which started in 2009 has killed 36,000 people and displaced around two million in northeast Nigeria.

The violence has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to fight the militants.

AFP