The Islamic insurgency Boko Haram in Nigeria killed 217 people during attacks on five villages Thursday and Friday, a ranking official said, the latest massacre in Nigeria's rural and inaccessible northeast.

Suspected fighters from the sect burned down four villages over two days, shooting 210 civilians as they ran from house to house, said Sen. Ahmed Zanna. In a fifth town, Dikwa, they burned down a teachers' college, killing seven, said Sen. Zanna, the leading legislator from Borno state, which is the epicenter of Boko Haram's...