LAGOS, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Boko Haram insurgents burnt down 40 houses in a reprisal attack in Mailari village in Guzamala area of restive northeast Borno State, the Nigeria police said Monday.
The terrorists stormed the town at about 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, Demien Chukwu, police chief in charge of the state told reporters in Maiduguri, capital of Borno.
Chukwu said the police had yet to ascertain the casualty figure.
Local residents told Xinhua that up to 19 people were killed during the attack.
"The marauding militants who were pissed with the development, decided to launch the massive attack to revenge the arrest. They passed several villages on their way to Mailari," the police chief added.
The West African nation has lost more than 20,000 lives in the Northern region since 2009 to the insurgency of this infamous sect, Boko Haram which has been ravaging the northern region of the country.
