Christian blood is cheap in the Islamic world.

KANO (AFP) – At least 38 people were killed following a raid by suspected Islamist Boko Haramgunmen on a village in northeast Nigeria and a military aerial bombardment of fleeing residents mistaken for insurgents, villagers said Monday.

The attack on the Christian farming village of Dille in Askira Uba district, 200 kilometres from regional capital Maiduguri late Sunday through Monday, burnt the entire village including three churches, they said.

Dozens of gunmen in all-terrain vehicles and on motorcycles stormed the village from the nearby Sambisa forest where the insurgents maintain camps, firing indiscriminately and throwing grenades and explosives into homes.

The attack, which sent residents fleeing into the bush followed an earlier raid on Buttuku village in neighbouring Adamawa state, said resident Michael Umaru Jar.

“We lost 38 people in Boko Haram attacks and bombardments by a military jet on innocent residents fleeing the village,” Jar said.

“The Boko Haram gunmen came around 11pm on Sunday and opened fire on the village with guns, rocket-propelled grenades and explosives,” said Jar who fled to Lassa village, seven kilometres away.