At least 10 people were killed by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria's northeastern Yobe state, police said Saturday, the latest attack in a region where security forces are battling a long-running insurgency.
The Boko Haram insurgency, which erupted in northeast Nigeria in 2009, has killed more than 350,000 people and forced at least 2 million to flee their homes, international aid groups say.
Yobe state police spokesperson Dungus Abdulkarim said the latest incident occurred in Buni Gari Gujba local government area Friday, when a group of villagers searching for a missing villager were ambushed by Boko Haram militants.
"Ten bodies were recovered in all. The security operatives have been dispatched to the area now to face the insurgents who from time to time frequent that particular area," Abdulkarim told Reuters by phone.
Boko Haram has split over time, with an active offshoot called Islamic State West Africa Province, an affiliate of Islamic State, also claiming responsibility for several attacks in the West African country.
