Fifteen civilians were killed and 17 others were injured in a suicide attack in northeast Nigeria carried out by suspected Boko Haram militants, the military said on Tuesday.

Defence spokesman Chris Olukolade said one of the victims was a member of a civilian vigilante group and that the blast, on the outskirts of the capital of restive Borno state, Maiduguri, destroyed eight vehicles.

"Six of the terrorists died while one has been arrested," he added in a statement.