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The men, dressed in military clothing, launched the attack on a remote road

Borno is one of three states under a state of emergency

CNN  — 

Gunmen suspected of being members of the Islamist group Boko Haram attacked motorists in northeastern Nigeria on Sunday, killing four, authorities said.

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Nigerian Army spokesman Brigadier Genera Ibrahim Attahiru said the men, dressed in military clothing, launched the attack on a remote road in between Ikwa and Gamboru-Ngala in Borno State, close to the border of Cameroon.

“The military responded in hot pursuit of the terrorists and killed several of them,” he said.

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Attahiru was not able to confirm how many Boko Haram members were killed.

Borno is one of three states placed under a state of emergency by Nigeria’s president Goodluck Jonathan in May.

The attack is the latest round of violence by Boko Haram, whose name means “Western Education is sacrilege.”

According to human rights groups, the group has killed more than 3,000 people in a campaign to impose strict Sharia law in northeastern Nigeria.