Updated

Police in Mozambique say 10 people have been beheaded in the country's north amid concerns that the machete-wielding attackers have links to Islamic extremism.

The Portuguese news agency Lusa cites police as saying Sunday's attack occurred near the rural community of Olumbi and that the suspects are being pursued. The dead include two teenagers.

This is not the first time fears have been raised over suspected extremist attacks in the remote north of the largely impoverished southern African nation.

The Lusa report says that police say evidence shows the attackers are with the same group that killed police officers in Mocimboa da Praia in October. No details were given.