Kano, Nigeria: At least two people were killed when unknown gunmen opened fire on residents of a village in the northeastern Nigerian state of Yobe, the state police commissioner said on Sunday.

“So far we have confirmed two people killed on Saturday by these criminals who went about shooting indiscriminately in the village,” Patrick Egbuniwe told AFP.

The gunmen stormed Dogon Kuka village and opened fire on residents, he said.

“The JTF (Joint Task Force) have deployed there and we are awaiting comprehensive details of casualties,” Egbuniwe said.

He declined to say if the attackers were members of the sect Boko Haram, which has been blamed for a string of deadly attacks in several parts of Yobe and neighbouring Borno state.

The village, inhabited mainly by Muslims, is about 70km from Damaturu, the state capital.

Extremists have been blamed for more than 1,400 deaths since 2010 as part of their insurgency in northern and central Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer which is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.