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MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) -- An international news channel is showing chilling footage of men in uniforms shooting unarmed men after they purportedly were arrested during clashes last year with Muslim militants in northern Nigeria.

The footage aired Tuesday on Al-Jazeera shows two uniformed men forcing seven young men to lie face-down at the side of a busy road. The uniformed men then fire into the men's backs. The footage could not be authenticated by The Associated Press.

Boko Haram sect militants sparked violence in late July, unleashing a bloodbath in which 700 people died. Rights groups claimed authorities committed extrajudicial killings.

Borno state Police Commissioner Ibrahim Abdu says the TV images are false and "a deliberate attempt of the surviving sect members to cause confusion and threats."

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