Nigerian Boko Haram militants killed at least a dozen villagers and wounded several others in an attack in southeastern Niger on Wednesday night, security sources said.

The attack on Gamgara, near the town of Bosso some 1,500 km (930 miles) east of the capital Niamey, follows a spate of attacks by the resurgent group whose six-year-old insurgency has killed thousands in the Lake Chad region, according to The New York Times on Friday.

Boko Haram insurgents have stepped up attacks including raids and suicide bombings in Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria in recent weeks