"Witnesses and a security source said the gunmen, thought to be members of Boko Haram, struck before dawn on Saturday. They added that the near total lack of phone network meant no one could call for help.
"Boko Haram, which is fighting for an Islamic state in Nigeria, has relentlessly targeted civilians this year, mostly in the remote, hilly region bordering northern Cameroon.
"Survivor Abdul Bulama, a resident who fled Damboa to the nearby town of Biu, said 46 bodies had been recovered for burial. A security source in Maiduguri, the main city in the northeast and birthplace of the insurgency, said more than 40 had died..."