At least 31 persons were  killed on Saturday night when several blasts went off in Damboa Local Government Area in the southern part of Borno State.

Witnesses said the blasts which hit the Shuwari and Abachari districts of the local government area, which is about 90 km (55 miles) from the state capital, Maiduguri included at least one rocket attack which occurred around 8 pm as residents of the area where retiring to sleep after  Sallah celebrations.

Borno is the state worst hit by the insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria, which has killed more than 30,000 people and forced over two million to flee their homes since 2009.

“It has destroyed our houses. We have also counted 31 innocent people including children and elderly killed in the attack,” said a local resident, Modu Usman, son of a community leader.

 No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts and the Nigerian military and Police  did not immediately respond to telephone calls seeking details of the blasts.

The last large attack in Nigeria’s northeast occurred in early May when at least 20 people were killed in Adamawa state, which borders Borno State.