Nigeria's army says suspected sect members have gruesomely killed nine builders in a northeastern city.

Spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said Monday that the assailants cut their victims' throats in a late Sunday night attack in the city of Maiduguri. He said one man was found Monday still breathing even as he bled from the neck.

The army has blamed the attack on "terrorists," which is how they often refer to a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram.

Matthew Okoye, a neighbor, said he saw 14 bodies. He said some of the victims were from Nigeria's predominantly Christian south.

Officials have underreported casualties before for fear of reprisals, especially when attacks involve people of differing religions.

Authorities have blamed Boko Haram for more than 620 deaths this year alone.