An attack by Boko Haram terrorists on a funeral in northeast Nigeria left 65 people dead, almost triple the initial toll, a local official said Sunday.

Dozens more bodies were discovered following the assault Saturday by gunmen on a village close to the regional capital Maiduguri in Borno State.

"It is 65 people dead and 10 injured," local government chairman Muhammed Bulama said.

Bulama said more than 20 people died in the initial attack on a funeral gathering. Dozens more were killed as they tried to chase after the terrorists.

The leader of a local anti-Boko Haram militia confirmed the death toll, while giving a slightly different account of the attack.

Bunu Bukar Mustapha told AFP 23 people were killed as they returned from the funeral and "the remaining 42 were killed when they pursued the terrorists."

Bulama said he thought the latest attack was in retaliation for the killing two weeks ago of 11 Boko Haram fighters by local residents when the fighters approached their village. The residents also captured 10 automatic rifles.

Boko Haram has waged a decade-long insurgency in northeast Nigeria that has killed around 27,000 people and displaced more than 2 million.

The group has splintered between the Boko Haram faction loyal to historic leader Abubakar Shekau and an affiliate of the Daesh terror group.

Shekau's group tends to hit softer targets including civilians, while the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has since last year ratcheted up its campaign against the military. </s> Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) At least 65 people are dead following a suspected attack by Boko Haram on a funeral gathering in northeastern Nigeria, according to local officials.

The attack occurred Saturday during a burial in the Nganzai district, near the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, local government chairman Muhammed Bulama said.

Twenty-one people were initially killed during the burial ceremony, Bulama said. An additional 44 people were killed when villagers ran after the assailants, the official said.

At least 10 people were injured in the attack. Eight of them were critically wounded and were being treated at an area hospital, he said.

Boko Haram militants have inhabited the northern states of Nigeria for the past decade. The terror group says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.

Read More </s> An attack by Boko Haram fighters on a funeral in northeast Nigeria left 65 people dead, almost triple the initial toll, a local official said Sunday.

Dozens of more bodies were discovered following the assault Saturday by gunmen on a village close to the regional capital Maiduguri.

"It is 65 people dead and 10 injured," local government chairman Muhammed Bulama said.

Borno is the epicentre of the Boko Haram and related Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) insurgency. The conflict has lasted a decade, during which time the militants have killed thousands and millions have fled from their homes in the region.

Resident Bakura Mallam Amadu said he saw the insurgents gather before opening fire at funeral attendees in a village on Saturday.

Dan Batta, a state emergency official, confirmed the attacks and said authorities had mobilised to support injured civilians.

He declined to comment on the death toll. </s> MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, July 28 (Reuters) - At least 65 people died in an attack by suspected Islamists on a group returning from a funeral in Nigeria's northeastern Borno region, state television reported on Sunday, one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in recent years.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Boko Haram group and rival Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) splinter group have often carried out attacks in the area.

Local government chairman Mohammed Bulama was quoted as saying on state television that the assailants killed 21 people returning from the funeral on Saturday and another 44 people when they tried to regroup to defend themselves.

Others were injured, he said, meaning the death toll may rise.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday condemned the attack and directed the military to hunt down the perpetrators, a statement from the presidential office said.

Borno state is the epicenter of the Boko Haram and ISWA insurgency. The conflict has lasted a decade, during which time the militants have killed thousands and millions have fled from their homes in the region.

Resident Bakura Mallam Amadu said he saw the insurgents gather before firing on the funeral attendees. A security source said Islamists attacked on motorbikes and in vans.

Buhari won a second term in February promising to improve security in Nigeria.

Nigeria's government says Boko Haram and ISWA have been largely defeated and driven out of territory they once held, but they continue to attack both civilian and military targets. (Reporting by Maiduguri newsroom; Additional reporting by Felix Onuah in Abuja Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Dale Hudson, Andrew Cawthorne and Sonya Hepinstall) </s> An attack this weekend by Boko Haram fighters on a funeral in the northeastern state of Borno in Nigeria has left 65 people dead, almost three times the initial toll, a local official said.

Dozens of more bodies were discovered on Sunday following the assault a day before by gunmen on a village close to the regional capital, Maiduguri.

"It is 65 people dead and 10 injured," said Muhammed Bulama, the local government chairman.

Bulama added that more than 20 people had died in the initial attack on a funeral gathering. Dozens more were killed as they tried to chase after the attackers.

The leader of a local anti-Boko Haram militia confirmed the death toll, giving a slightly different account of the attack.

Bunu Bukar Mustapha told AFP news agency that 23 people were killed as they returned from the funeral and "the remaining 42 were killed when they pursued the terrorists".

Bulama said he thought the latest attack was in retaliation for the killing two weeks ago of 11 Boko Haram fighters by local residents when the fighters approached their village. The residents also captured 10 automatic rifles.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday condemned the attack and directed the country's air force and army to begin air patrols and ground operations to hunt down the attackers, a statement released by the president's office said.

Boko Haram has waged a decade-long in northeast Nigeria that has killed around 27,000 people and displaced more than two million.

The group has splintered between the Boko Haram faction loyal to historic leader Abubakar Shekau and an affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group.

Shekau's group tends to hit softer targets including civilians, while the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has since last year ratcheted up its campaign against the military. </s> Dozens of mourners ‘killed by Boko Haram’ at a funeral in north Nigeria

At least 65 people have lost their lives after suspected Boko Haram militants opened fire on a funeral in Nigeria’s north-eastern state of Borno.

Gunmen arrived on motorcycles and in vans at the village near the state capital, Maiduguri, on Saturday, eyewitnesses say.

A number of mourners were reportedly killed straight away, while others died trying to chase off the attackers.

There has been an increase in Islamist attacks across the region.

Local government official Muhammed Bulama said he thought the latest attack was in revenge for the killing of 11 Boko Haram fighters by the villagers two weeks ago.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and more than two million displaced over the past decade of conflict.

Boko Haram, loosely translated, means “Western education is banned” and promotes a version of Islam that forbids Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with the West. The group is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.

It has been active not only in Nigeria, but also in the neighbouring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Boko Haram has been notorious for kidnapping schoolchildren and attracted global media attention in 2014 following the abduction of almost 300 girls from a school in the town of Chibok, in Borno, the state where the militant group has been most active.

In 2015, it was ranked the world’s deadliest terror group by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

Territory controlled by the group has declined in recent years and it has splintered into competing factions.

However, the Islamist militants remain active in the region, defying attempts by the army to bring the insurgency to an end. BBC News </s> Many people were killed when suspected members of the Boko Haram attacked a funeral procession in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The attack is believed to have occurred on Sunday, with the presidency saying “tens of mourners” were killed.

Maiduguri is considered the safest part of Borno State, but attacks by the Boko Haram still occur in and around the city.

In a statement on Sunday night, presidential aide, Garba Shehu, said President Muhammadu Buhari strongly condemned the attack on the mourners.

The president has received assurances from the armed forces that the terrorists who committed these killings “will pay a big price for their action,” Mr Shehu said.

“The federal government is firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to safeguard the nation’s security. This administration is determined to end the menace of terrorism,” the spokesperson quoted Mr Buhari as saying.

He said a major exercise has begun to hunt down the attackers with air patrols by the nation’s Air Force and ground operations by the army.

The president assures the residents of Maiduguri and the citizens settled in IDP camps that they will receive increased protection from further attacks by the assailants, Mr Shehu said.

The latest attack occurs about 10 years since the Boko Haram insurgency began in Borno State.

The insurgency has led to tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of about two million people.

Many of the displaced persons live in internally displaced persons’ camps in Borno State. About 30 of such camps are believed to be in Borno, a majority in Maiduguri.

The Boko Haram, which wants to establish an Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria, has carried out several attacks across Northern Nigeria including in Abuja.

The group’s activities have, however, been limited to Adamawa, Borno and Yobe by security operatives since 2016.

Despite the efforts of the security services, however, the group is still able to carry out attacks on civilians and soldiers in the three affected states. </s> Boko Haram gunmen on Saturday killed 23 mourners in Borno state in Nigeria's restive northeast after they attended a funeral, local militia and residents said.

At about 10:30 GMT, the attackers on three motorbikes opened fire on a group of men as they walked back from a funeral in Nganzai district near the state capital Maiduguri, local militia leader Bunu Bukar Mustapha said.

"Our men recovered 23 dead bodies from the scene of the attack, which happened this morning," Mustapha said.

The men were returning to Badu Kuluwu from nearby Goni Abachari village where they had attended funeral prayers for a relative, said Mustapha.

A Nganzai district official confirmed both the incident and death toll.

"I received calls from Nganzai that Boko Haram killed 23 people near Badu Kuluwu this morning," said the official, who asked not to be identified for his own safety.

Local hunters and militia recovered the bodies after survivors returned to the village and alerted them, Nganzai resident Saleh Masida said.

In September last year, the group killed eight people and stole livestock in two villages in the area after residents tried to stop them from taking their animals.

Boko Haram and its Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-supported ISWAP splinter have intensified attacks on civilian and military targets in recent months.

Late Thursday, Boko Haram fighters attacked a camp for displaced people outside Maiduguri, killing two residents and looting food supplies after burning a nearby military base.

The decade-long conflict has spilled over into neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon, claiming about 27,000 lives and forcing more than two million people to flee their homes. </s> MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) - A double suicide bombing at a market in Nigeria's northern city of Maiduguri killed at least 12 people and wounded 48 others on Wednesday, residents and an emergency official said.

Ibrahim Usman, a trader in Muna Garage market, said the first bomber attacked inside the market while the other remained outside, killing only himself.

"Suddenly there was a loud bang and everywhere became disorganized," he said. "I counted 12 corpses and over 40 injured victims."

The head of rescue operations for the State Emergency Management Agency, Bello Dambatta, said a female bomber attacked the market while the other attacker was male.

Muna Garage, the site of a camp for displaced people, has been attacked several times in the past few years by Boko Haram insurgents. Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, has been a refuge for thousands of people displaced by the insurgency in Nigeria's northeast.

Boko Haram, which was formed in Maiduguri, has killed more than 20,000 people in its nine-year insurgency. The Islamic extremist group has used a growing number of women and children as suicide bombers, often after abducting and indoctrinating them, in recent months.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari in his New Year's address again claimed that Boko Haram had been largely defeated. That came a year after he declared that the extremist group had been "crushed" following a military effort to flush the fighters from their forest strongholds.

A series of deadly attacks in Maiduguri and elsewhere followed last year.

The insurgency has displaced millions of people, creating one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, and staged attacks in neighboring countries participating in a military operation against it.

Boko Haram wants to set aside Nigeria's constitution and replace it with Shariah law.
At least 65 people are killed and 10 injured in an attack by Boko Haram at a funeral in Maiduguri, Nigeria.