Death toll hits 48 in Boko Haram attack on Nigeria troops

The death toll from a Boko Haram attack on a Nigerian army post on the border with Niger has risen to 48, military sources said on Monday.

Scores of Boko Haram warring parties in trucks stormed the base on Thursday in Zari village in northern Borno state and in brief seized it after a fierce battle.

Boko Haram, which has been waging a deadly insurgency in Nigeria since 2009, has intensified attacks on military targets in recent months.

At the least 30 Nigerian soldiers were intially stated to have been killed in Thursday's raid.

"The casualty toll now stands at 48 with the recovery of 17 more bodies of soldiers in surrounding bushes in Zari by search and rescue teams," a military source who did not want to be named informed AFP.

"Search operations are nonetheless ongoing and more bodies are probably to be recovered."

Another military source confirmed the new death toll.

"Thus far (the) bodies of 48 troops had been recovered. yesterday rescue groups found 17 bodies of fallen soldiers," he said, adding that they included  two officers and 46 soldiers.

"When the troops were overwhelmed by the terrorists they withdrew in different directions."