No group claimed responsibility but militant Islamist group Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, carry out attacks in the northeast.
Some 2 million people have fled their homes and 30,000 have been killed since Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009 aimed at creating an Islamic state in the region.
Nigeria, which has Africa’s biggest economy, faces a raft of security challenges. Authorities are grappling with the insurgency, a spate of school kidnappings in the northwest and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
The insurgents attacked Damasak, a few kilometres from the border with Niger, at around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, three soldiers speaking on condition of anonymity said.
Islamists kill at least eight in Nigeria s Damasak, hundreds flee to Niger reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.