Nigeria’s army said on Saturday that scores of people had been killed in an attack by six suicide bombers on the northeastern village of Zabarmari, near Maiduguri.

Nigeria's army said on Saturday that scores of people had been killed in an attack by six suicide bombers on the northeastern village of Zabarmari, near Maiduguri.

"A total of six suicide bombers had detonated themselves around the garage killing scores of people while some people were also wounded. A soldier also died," the defense headquarters said in a statement of Friday's attack.

It said a jeep full of Improvised Explosives Devises (IEDs) was recovered by troops after the assault on the village which lies about 10 kilometers (six miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

"Military explosives ordinance experts backed by police bomb disposal units are continuing with vigorous search for any bombs that might have been hidden or left unexploded in the area," it said.

The army had deployed troops to drive out the terrorists from the restive region, and the two sides engaged in fierce battle in Zabarmari on Friday.

Many terrified residents of the village were said to have fled to Maiduguri following the attack.

Witnesses said that several female suicide bombers blew themselves up in the midst of fleeing residents, leaving many dead and scores injured.

The attack on Zabarmari follows a wave of attacks by Boko Haram fighters since Wednesday that have claimed some 200 lives in killings which President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday described as "inhuman and barbaric".