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An attack perpetrated this weekend by Boko Haram fighters at a funeral in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, left 65 dead, nearly three times the initial toll, said a local official .
Dozens of corpses were discovered Sunday after the badault of the day by armed men in a village near the regional capital, Maiduguri.
"It's 65 dead and 10 wounded," said Muhammed Bulama, responsible local government president.
Bulama added that more than 20 people had died during the first attack at a funeral rally. Dozens of others were killed while they were trying to pursue the attackers.
The leader of a local anti-Boko Haram militia confirmed the record, making a slightly different account of the attack.
Bunu Bukar Mustapha told the AFP news agency that 23 people had been killed upon their return from the burial and that "the other 42 people had been killed while they were pursuing the terrorists".
Bulama said that he thought the latest attack was in retaliation for the killing of 11 Boko Haram fighters by local residents two weeks ago when fighters approached their village. Residents also captured 10 automatic rifles.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday condemned the attack and asked the country 's air force and army to begin air patrols and ground operations. to track down the attackers, according to a statement issued by the president's office.
Boko Haram fighters repeatedly attacked Nganzai District.
Boko Haram has spent a decade in northeastern Nigeria, killing nearly 27,000 people and more than two million internally displaced people.
The group is split between the Boko Haram faction loyal to the historical leader Abubakar Shekau and a subsidiary of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group.
The Shekau group tends to target milder targets, especially civilians, while the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) has since last year stepped up his campaign against the army.
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