Eight civilians died in an assault on a health centre in DR Congo's North Kivu province, local sources said Thursday, blaming ADF militia linked to the Islamic State group.

The group arrived from Ituri province to Mantumbi on Wednesday, Beni territory civil society leader Omar Kalisia told reporters.

"For now we have a toll of eight dead, including the sick and the accountant at the health centre," he said, adding that one nurse was missing.

A house had also been set on fire, he said.

A Beni area chief, Leon Siviwe, listed 10 dead, including a nurse. He also attributed the killings to ADF rebels.

He said a Ugandan army "position" was very close.

At the end of 2021, Kampala and Kinshasa launched a joint military operation, so far unsuccessful, against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

The ADF, originally mainly Muslim Ugandan rebels, have established a presence over the three decades in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing thousands of civilians.

They pledged allegiance in 2019 to Islamic State, which portrays them as its central African incarnation. The group is also accused of recent attacks on Ugandan soil.