11 security personnel have been killed by landmines planted by Boko Haram, including four soldiers in northeast Nigeria, security sources said this week.

Seven hunters recruited to help the military fight the terrorist insurgents were killed on Tuesday when their vehicle hit a landmine in the village of Kayamla, outside Borno State’s capital Maiduguri.

Their vehicle hit a landmine as they were pursuing Boko Haram insurgents,” he added.

Another local militia confirmed the incident.

On Monday four Nigerian soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine planted by Boko Haram fighters in Logomani village near the border with Cameroon, two security sources told AFP.

This month has seen a sharp increase in attacks.

Last week, 40 loggers were kidnapped and three killed near the Cameroonian border. On Christmas Eve, Boko Haram killed 11 people, burnt a church, and seized a priest in a village near Chibok, where it notoriously kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls six years ago.

According to the United Nations, Boko Haram and a splinter group known as ISWAP have killed 36,000 people in the northeast and forced roughly two million to flee since 2009.