Dozens of people in mourning killed by Boko Haram & # 39; during a funeral in northern Nigeria

At least 65 people were killed after suspected Boko Haram militants opened fire on a burial in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria.

Gunmen arrived by motorcycle and vans in the village near the state capital, Maiduguri, Saturday, witnesses said.

A number of people in mourning were reportedly killed on the spot, while others died trying to chase away the badailants.

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

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

The Agence France Presse journalists present at the scene said they saw houses burned and relatives gather the bodies of those who were killed.

Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, has condemned the attack and ordered the air force and the army to hunt down those who carried it out, reports Reuters. .

Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed and more than two million people have been displaced in the last decade of conflict.

Boko Haram, vaguely translated, means "Western education is forbidden" and promotes a version of Islam that forbids Muslims from taking part in any political or social activity badociated with the West. The group is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.

He has been active not only in Nigeria, but also in neighboring countries such as Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

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Boko Haram is known for its school kidnappings and attracted the attention of the world media in 2014 after the abduction of nearly 300 girls in a school in Chibok city, in the US. Borno State, where the militant group was the most active.

In 2015, the Institute for the Economy and Peace ranked it at the forefront of the world's deadliest terrorist groups.

The territory controlled by the group has declined in recent years and it has split into competing factions.

However, Islamist militants remain active in the region, defying any attempt by the army to end the insurgency.