Gunmen kill more than 30 in attack on Nigeria wedding convoy: Witnesses

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AFP) - Gunmen have attacked a wedding convoy in Nigeria's north-eastern state of Borno, killing more than 30 people, including the groom, in a suspected ambush, witnesses and survivors said on Sunday.

The attack happened on Saturday on the notorious Bama-Banki road when the wedding party, including friends and relatives of the groom, was making its way back to the state capital Maiduguri after the ceremony in Michika, in nearby in Adamawa State, they said.

"It was a gory scene," said a driver, who said he had seen the dead bodies on the highway.

The driver, who did not wish to be named, told AFP that many of the victims appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds.

"All the victims were brutally murdered by the attackers. My passengers and I were visibly shocked when we met the dead bodies lying by the highway," he said.

Army and police officials in the area were not immediately available for comment. But a security source who described the incident as "brutal and callous" said the bodies had been transferred to a hospital in Maiduguri.

Violent attacks are not uncommon in north-eastern Nigeria, where the army has launched an offensive to end an insurgency by Boko Haram Islamists.

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