Dozens killed in attack in northern Nigeria

At least 59 people have been killed in a suspected jihadist attack in north-eastern Nigeria.

Gunmen entered a remote village in the Gubio district of Borno state on Tuesday afternoon, killing dozens.

The village was also razed, in what is believed to have been a reprisal attack, according to local reports.

No group has yet claimed the attack. The AFP news agency said that 59 bodies had been recovered, while Reuters reported that 69 people were killed.

Reuters reported that the militants suspected villagers of sharing information about their movements to security forces, while AFP said jihadist fighters had been killed by locals trying to protect livestock.

• Who are Boko Haram

• Have Nigeria's militants been defeated?

While it is unclear who carried out the attack, both the jihadist group Boko Haram and an offshoot which fights under the banner of the Islamic State group have carried out deadly attacks in the north-east of Nigeria.

Boko Haram, which sparked global outrage in 2014 when they abducted more than 270 schoolgirls in Chibok in Borno state, is also active in neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

In March, its militants ambushed and killed at least 47 Nigerian soldiers in the country's north east, before killing almost 100 soldiers in Chad the following day.

The group's decade-long insurgency has left thousands dead and displaced many more.

Why the timing of the attack is significant

By Celestina Olulode, BBC Nigeria correspondent

This was one of the biggest attacks on civilians this year, but the timing is also significant.

In recent weeks the Nigerian army has claimed significant success against Boko Haram militants but their assessments in past have been exaggerated.

As civilians were targeted, security analyst Bulama Bukarti believes Tuesday's attack bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram tactics.

He said that if the Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap), another splinter group operating in the region, was behind the attack it would mark a significant shift in the way they operate.

Iswap doesn't usually target civilians unless they are working with Western aid agencies, or suspects them of providing information to the Nigerian army.