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The Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram has attacked a town in Niger for the first time, the BBC reported, citing witnesses.

The attack on the border town of Bosso is the group's second attack on a neighbouring country in as many days.

Boko Haram militants reportedly killed at least 70 people in an attack on the town of Fotokol in Cameroon on Thursday.

The Boko Haram insurgency has left thousands dead and displaced more than a million over the past six years.

The militants control a large stretch of land in north-eastern Nigeria.

A BBC reporter in the region said that troops from Niger and Chad, who have a base in Bosso, are engaged in fierce battles with the Islamists.

Witnesses in Bosso told the AFP news agency they could hear gunfire.

"We can hear the sound of weapons all around the town, often very near our windows," one resident said.

"There is the noise of heavy weapons and of light arms, making our houses shake."