File Photo: a village destroyed by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria

Half of Damboa, a  town 85 kilometres  from Maiduguri, in Nigeria’s north east has been  set on fire by Boko Haram militants, and many residents have died.

Fresh reports from the Boko Haram frontline said   Boko Haram gunmen invaded the  town before dawn, killing many residents and setting homes ablaze.

Residents of Damboa town called an AP reporter to say they were piling up corpses.

A spokesman for the Nigerian Vigilante Group says its civilian defense fighters are reporting that half the town of Damboa is burning.

The town has been besieged for two weeks, since Islamic extremists on July 4 attacked a new military base set up on its outskirts. The Defense Ministry had reported repelling that attack and killing at least 50 insurgents with six soldiers killed.

But locals say soldiers were driven from the base and the extremists have twice ambushed military convoys trying to reach it in the past week.