Nigeria: Death toll in Maiduguri Boko Haram attack rises to 85

The death toll of the weekend attack in Maiduguri, Nigeria has risen to 85.

This is according to the country’s officials who gave the new numbers after more bodies were recovered from the village that was torched down.

It was earlier reported that at least 65 people lost their lives in what is believed to be one of the worst attacks by Boko Haram insurgents so far this year.

The Borno State Commissioner of Health said the death toll is 85 and that between 65-70 wounded people were taken to the State Specialist Hospital and 10 others are receiving treatment at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

The assailants are reported to have arrived in the village on motorbikes and in two cars and began to shoot indiscriminately at civilians.

Following the attack, the European Union has said it is committed to help countries in the region in their fight against terror.

Last December, Nigeria’s president was optimistic that the country had largely won the fight against the Islamist militants and urged the locals to work with security forces in order to completely destroy the group.

At least 17,000 people have been killed in the region and more than 2.6 million displaced since 2009 in a series of attacks launched by the terrorist group.