Islamic militants have killed at least 30 people and abducted a number of women and children during an attack carried out in north-eastern Nigeria on Sunday night.

The attackers targetted motorists as they slept in their vehicles at a stop-off in the town of Auno.

A witness said militants set alight 30 vehicles, including trucks that had stopped overnight on their way to Maiduguri.

“Many of the drivers and their assistants who were sleeping in the vehicles were burnt alive,” said Babakura Kolo, a member of a state-backed anti-jihadist militia.

Borno State governor Babagana Zulum visited the scene the morning after the attack and later shared images on Facebook showing the aftermath.

“Armed men, suspected to be members of the ISWAP/BH attacked Auno on Sunday night around 10 o’clock,” he said in the post.

“According to an eye witness the insurgents abducted a number of women and children, also killed not less than 30 people who are mostly motorists and destroyed 18 vehicles.”

The location, which lies on a 120-kilometre highway linking Maiduguri to Damaturu, has seen increased attacks in recent months, with jihadists reportedly disguising themselves as soldiers and setting up roadblocks in order to target Christians and members of the security forces.

According to the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, Islamic militants slaughtered more than 1,000 Christians in the country last year. A report presented at the International Organisation for Peace and Social Justice crisis conference in November revealed that in the last four years, over 6,000 Christians have been murdered by Islamic militants in the area.

Open Doors has reported Nigeria as one of the most violent countries for Christians in the world, accounting for 90% of Christian deaths in the 2019 World Watch List reporting period.