Bombs Abandoned by Boko Haram Kill 63 in Nigeria

At least 63 civilians have been killed in northern Nigeria after a sack of homemade bombs left at an abandoned Boko Haram camp exploded, according to civilian self-defense fighters.

Haruna Bukar, a witness to the blast, said the local militia was patrolling the area on Wednesday when they discovered the camp and found the bag of metal objects, which they carried to the nearby town of Monguno.

As residents gathered around to examine the bag, it exploded, according to Bukar. It is still uncertain whether the bombs were left behind as a trap.

Scores of people have been killed this month in suicide and other bombings carried out by Nigeria's homegrown extremists using these kinds of improvised explosive devices.

Boko Haram took control of a large swath of northeast Nigeria until a multinational force this year forced them out of towns and villages. Nigeria's military says the extremists are now confined to the Sambisa Forest — an area that the Nigerian army say is difficult to access due to the prevalence of landmines, laid down by Boko Haram fighters. Last month hundreds of kidnapped civilians were rescued from the forest.

Watch the VICE News documentary: The War Against Boko Haram

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On Tuesday, the US announced that it would give $5 million to set up a multi-national taskforce to fight the militant group. The force is expected to be made up of around 7,500 troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin.

The Islamist group denies Nigerian government claims it has lost large amounts of territory. It has stepped up bombings and hit-and-run attacks since President Muhammadu Buhari announced at his May 29 inauguration that the command control center for the war against the insurgents was moving to Maiduguri, the biggest city in northeast Nigeria and the birthplace of Boko Haram.

The 6-year-old Islamic uprising is estimated to have killed some 10,000 people just last year when it began attacking neighboring countries as well as Nigeria. A multinational force this year drove Boko Haram fighters out of towns and villages they had held for months. At least 1.5 million people have been displaced by the conflict.

Human rights groups have also documented extensive abuses by the Nigerian military against civilians, including young children. Amnesty International said earlier this month that more than 7,000 young men and boys have died in military detention since March 2011, while at least 1,200 people have been unlawfully killed since February 2012.

Related: 'It's Like Being Blind and Deaf': We Spoke to Some of the Nigerians Displaced by Boko Haram

The Associated Press contributed to this report.