ABUJA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- At least five villagers were killed and many stores were burned down when Boko Haram militants stormed a village in Nigeria's northeastern state of Adamawa, military sources told Xinhua on Friday.
Many others were wounded as the terror group wreaked havoc in Shuwa village near the town of Madagali late Thursday for up to three hours, one top military officer said via telephone.
They drove into the village with pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns and motorcycles on a mission to loot food items, said the military officer who sought anonymity because he/she was not authorized to speak to the media about the attack.
"They didn't just kill, they also stole from the people and set their stores ablaze before the arrival of security forces deployed to repel the attack," the source said.
Some of the villagers who spoke to Xinhua by telephone said they slept out in the mountains and came back on Friday morning to bury their relatives and count their losses.
One villager surnamed James said the militants shot everyone at sight, noting that the elderly, children and the sick all ran for their lives.
"Over 50 stores were burned down after they looted all the items in the shops. I lost everything, but I am glad that I survived," he said.
Another resident who fled to a mountain nearby said the deployment of security forces led to a gunfight, which lasted more than four hours, with the Boko Haram militants.
Madagali, a town 285 km north of the Adamawa State capital Yola, is one of the most-hit towns by Boko Haram in Nigeria's northeast region.
Boko Haram's militancy has killed about 20,000 people since 2009 and left more than 2.6 million homeless.
