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Suspected Islamist militants have attacked two villages in north-eastern Nigeria, leaving 74 people dead, say police and witnesses. Militants attacked Kawuri village in Borno state as a busy market was packing up on Sunday, setting off explosives and setting houses ablaze. Witnesses said 52 people were killed in that attack, while 22 died in an attack on a church service in Waga Chakawa village, Adamawa state, on Sunday. The attacks were blamed on Boko Haram. The Islamist group - whose name means "Western education is forbidden" - is especially active in north-eastern Nigeria. Borno and Adamawa are two of three north-eastern states - along with Yobe - put under emergency rule last May, as the military attempts to combat the insurgency. 'No house left standing' Gunmen planted explosive devices around Kawuri village prior to the attack, said a witness and security official. They also killed civilians in their homes, dozens of which were set ablaze in the attack. "No house was left standing," Ari Kolomi, who fled from the village to Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, some 70km (43 miles) away, told AP news agency. "The gunmen were more than 50 (in number); they were using explosives and heavy-sounding guns."