ABUJA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 bodies of fishermen allegedly hacked to death by terror group Boko Haram were recovered on Friday near Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri, a local emergency management official said.
The group of fishermen was attacked on Thursday in Alou Dam, 4 km from Maiduguri, the capital of the northern state of Borno.
Bello Danbatta, head of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, said most of the fishermen were from the neighboring village of Konduga.
They were going about their daily fishing activity when the militants struck, killing them and injuring some others.
Abubakar Gamandi, chairman of the Lake Chad Basin Fishery, who also confirmed the killing to Xinhua, described the attack as "unfortunate."
Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on fishermen and farmers in the northeast region of Nigeria in recent times, accusing them of leaking information on the activities of the group to the military.
Farming and fishing activities had almost become impossible in Maiduguri and its environs for the fear of attacks by the terror group.
Boko Haram's militancy has killed about 20,000 people since 2009 and left over 2.6 million homeless.
The group, which is also active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon, announced its allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2015.