File Photo: Members of the terror group Boko Haram. (Agence France-Presse)
Maiduguri:
The death toll from a Boko Haram attack in the northeastern Nigerian village of Kukawa - one of many staged by the Islamist group in the past week - has risen to 118, a lawmaker said Sunday.
"Before we left Kukawa on Friday, 113 people had been buried. Five more swollen corpses were just discovered, making the total death toll 118. But this excludes the people that died in the bush," parliamentarian Haruna Kukawa told AFP.
At least 97 people were initially said to have been killed on Wednesday when Boko Haram militants attacked homes and mosques in the village, some 185 kilometres from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and the birthplace of the movement.
Kukawa, who represents the area in the state legislature, said initial recovery efforts were hampered by landmines left by Boko Haram.
"I am afraid that some people who escaped with bullet wounds might have died in the bush," he said, adding that the death toll could rise further.
He said bomb experts had started to clear the landmines left on the fringes of the village.
Boko Haram waged fresh attacks in villages in Borno state, killing some 200 people in just two days in violence President Muhammadu Buhari blasted as "inhuman and barbaric."
The insurgents launched the multiple attacks on Wednesday, with people attending evening prayers during the holy month of Ramadan gunned down, women shot at home, and men dragged from their homes in the dead of night.
The wave of attacks was the bloodiest since Buhari came to power in May, vowing to root out the insurgency that has claimed more than 15,000 lives with 1.5 million people fleeing their homeless.
"Before we left Kukawa on Friday, 113 people had been buried. Five more swollen corpses were just discovered, making the total death toll 118. But this excludes the people that died in the bush," parliamentarian Haruna Kukawa told AFP.
At least 97 people were initially said to have been killed on Wednesday when Boko Haram militants attacked homes and mosques in the village, some 185 kilometres from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and the birthplace of the movement.
Kukawa, who represents the area in the state legislature, said initial recovery efforts were hampered by landmines left by Boko Haram.
"I am afraid that some people who escaped with bullet wounds might have died in the bush," he said, adding that the death toll could rise further.
He said bomb experts had started to clear the landmines left on the fringes of the village.
Boko Haram waged fresh attacks in villages in Borno state, killing some 200 people in just two days in violence President Muhammadu Buhari blasted as "inhuman and barbaric."
The insurgents launched the multiple attacks on Wednesday, with people attending evening prayers during the holy month of Ramadan gunned down, women shot at home, and men dragged from their homes in the dead of night.
The wave of attacks was the bloodiest since Buhari came to power in May, vowing to root out the insurgency that has claimed more than 15,000 lives with 1.5 million people fleeing their homeless.
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