A NIGERIAN Air Force fighter jet on a mission against Boko Haram extremists has mistakenly bombed a refugee camp, killing more than 100 people and wounding aid workers, a Borno state official said.

The state government official was helping to coordinate the evacuation of wounded and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to reporters.

Major General Lucky Irabor, who heads the military operation against the militants, said the air force had been given coordinates of "Boko Haram terrorists" in the Kala-Balge area.

"Unfortunately the strike was conducted but it turned out that the locals somewhere in Rann were affected," he told reporters at a briefing in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

Irabor did not give casualty figures but said local staff from MSF and the ICRC were among those wounded.

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"These are the result of fog of war," he added. "It is unfortunate. That is the reason why this war must come to an end."

This is believed to be the first time Nigeria's military has admitted to making such a mistake.

Villagers in the past have reported some civilian casualties in near-daily bombardments in northeastern Nigeria.

A local resident, Abba Abiso, told AFP by telephone: "This morning a military jet mistakenly bombarded Rann, instead of (nearby) Kala.

"In recent weeks Boko Haram has moved base to Kala from Sambisa Forest and obviously a military jet mistook Rann for Kala and bombarded, killing many civilians.

"At least 25 were killed and many more injured."

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement: "MSF teams have seen 120 wounded and 50 dead following the bombing."

A senior military source in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, said the casualties were "huge", adding: "A fighter jet hit the wrong target."

MSF said its teams were trying to provide emergency first aid at its facility in the camp and were stabilising patients to evacuate the wounded from the scene.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which also had teams in the area, said only there were "a number of people wounded and some killed", without specifying figures.

The bombing comes as Nigeria's military claims further gains against the ISIS affiliate group, pushing them out of captured territory and their remote bases in Borno state.

Last month, the army said the conflict was in its final stages after nearly eight years of violence that has killed at least 20,000 and left more than 2.6 million others homeless.

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