Nigeria: Death Toll in Boko Haram Attack on Funeral Rises to 65
Dozens 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 said he thought the attack was in retaliation for the killing two weeks ago of 11 Boko Haram terrorists by local residents when the fighters approached their village.
"The villagers resisted the [earlier] attack, killed 11 insurgents and recovered 10 AK-47 rifles in the encounter," he added.
"On Saturday at about 11:40am, the insurgents came on a reprisal mission, attacking mourners at a graveyard in the area."
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"
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.
Nigeria's military declined to comment.
