Dozens of young men have been shot dead in Nigeria by the military in Maiduguri, residents in the north-eastern city have told the BBC.
An imam told the BBC about 11 youths from his street alone were killed, including four of his own sons.
The alleged extrajudicial executions happened as Amnesty International accused the security forces of abuses in its crackdown on Islamist militants.
A military spokesman in Maiduguri said he was not aware of the incident.
But Lt Col Sagir Musa told the BBC investigations would be made.
Maiduguri is the stronghold of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which is fighting to impose Islamic law across Nigeria.
Hundreds of people in northern and central Nigeria have been killed in attacks blamed on the group over the last two years.
On Friday, retired General Mohammed Shuwa – key to crushing Biafran separatists during the brutal three-civil war in the 1960s – was shot by gunmen in his home in Maiduguri.
No-one has claimed responsibility for his killing, but Boko Haram is known for targeted assassinations of those they suspect oppose their views and work with the authorities.
Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday that the security forces have carried out widespread abuses in their campaign against the militants, killing, torturing and burning the houses of innocent civilians. Allegations denied by the military.
‘Bodies in mortuary’
Malam Aji Mustapha, an imam in Maiduguri, said after morning prayers on Thursday soldiers took him and his children to an open field where many people had already been taken.
