Suspected members of the Boko Haram militant group have killed at least six people in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, a report says.

According to a top security official, the victims, who were mostly travelers, were killed along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road late on Sunday, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

"The incident happened on Sunday afternoon and I counted six corpses as I drove off along the road. They were beheaded and their heads were placed on their chest," the security official said.


An eye witness said he saw ten corpses on the road about 55 kilometers away from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Militants have recently stepped up their attacks against travelers along the road.

On Saturday, four people were killed in the city of Malumti while returning from Damaturu.

Early on Sunday, militants reportedly attacked and burned down a truck after offloading food items it was carrying. It is not clear if the driver was killed or not.

On May 15, the Nigerian army launched an offensive against the militant group a day after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the three northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.

Over the past four years, violence in the north of Africa’s most populous country has claimed the lives of more than 3,600 people, including killings by the security forces.