At least 200 people are feared dead following an airstrike carried out by Nigerian military jets on a village market in Yobe State in northeast Nigeria.

Axar.az reports, citing Reuters, the strike hit the Jilli weekly market area while the military was conducting operations against Islamist militants in the region.

Local officials and residents said that more than 200 people were killed, while others injured in the blast were taken to hospitals in Yobe and neighbouring Borno State.

The Nigerian Air Force has launched an investigation into the incident, activating a civilian harm and accident investigation unit to determine the circumstances of the strike.