At least 200 people were killed in a fresh attack by insurgents in a border town in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno, an official said on Tuesday.

Dressed in military uniforms, the insurgents attacked Gamboru, a remote town located at the Nigeria-Cameroon border late Monday, shooting indiscriminately at residents, said Ahmed Zannah, a representative of the area at the Nigerian Senate.

According to the national lawmaker, the attackers stormed the town when some of the residents were fast asleep, setting ablaze houses while shooting at residents who tried to escape from the fire.

"About 200 persons were confirmed dead after the incident, with several others injured. Almost all the houses in the town were destroyed by the hoodlums who threw improvised explosive devises ( IEDs) at the buildings," Zannah told reporters in the state capital Maiduguri.

Eyewitnesses said the insurgents set ablaze some 17 trucks at a cattle market in the town, while damaging about 100 vehicles, especially cars.

As of the time of filing this report, security agencies were yet to make any official comments on the attack. Residents blamed Boko Haram for the attack, although there was no immediate claim by the group for the mass killing.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is currently grappling with security challenges, one of which is the insurgency of Boko Haram, a sect which seeks to enshrine the Islamic Sharia law in the constitution.

Last Thursday, at least 20 people were killed in a blast in the capital Abuja, where the World Economic Forum on Africa will kick off on Wednesday.

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