Boko Haram insurgents reportedly killed about 300 people and abducted 11 girls Tuesday in Gamboru Ngala, a town on Nigeria's northeastern border with Cameroon in Borno State.
The town, about 200 kilometers north of the state capital Maiduguri, is the administrative center of the Ngala Local Government Area.
The Punch reports that Sen. Ahmed Zannah, representing the area, confirmed the incident in a BBC Hausa report, saying the attack lasted about 12 hours.
The insurgents allegedly arrived in Gamboru Ngala in armored personnel carriers (APCs), armed with assault rifles, machine guns, RPGs and IEDs. It was reported they attacked a market settlement in the outskirts of the town before driving into the town.
According to Zannah, "The attackers stormed the communities in the night … setting ablaze houses and shooting residents who tried to escape from the fire. ... My brother who was at the scene of the attack told me that the actual number of the dead cannot be ascertained but at least they are up to 300."
Explaining why Nigerian security forces did not intervene to stop a marauding operation that lasted 12 hours, the senator said forces deployed to the area had moved to the Lake Chad area in response to reports that gunmen were seen in that area with abducted schoolgirls. He said the insurgents arrived within an hour after the troops withdrew from the town.  allvoices