Boko Haram Abducts Cameroon's Vice PM Wife, Three Others Killed

Jul 28, 2014 06:30 AM EDT

Women holding signs take part in a protest demanding the release of abducted secondary school girls from the remote village of Chibok, in Lagos May 5, 2014. The Islamist militant group Boko Haram claimed responsibility on Monday for the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls during a raid in the village of Chibok in northeast Nigeria last month. (REUTERS)

Nigeria's Islamic militant Boko Haram has abducted the wife of Cameroon's vice prime minister and killed three other people following an attack in the northern town of Kolofata on Sunday, officials said.

Town mayor and religious leader Seini Boukar Lamine was also kidnapped in the latest cross-border attack of the well-equipped militant group after they took control of the strategic Damboa town last week that gave them access to other areas outside Nigeria.

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"I can confirm that the home of Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali in Kolofata came under a savage attack from Boko Haram militants... They unfortunately took away his wife," Cameroon information minister Issa Tchiroma told Reuters.

Cameroon's military, which have deployed over a thousand soldiers to augment Nigeria's army, said the situation in the area is "very critical" as its soldiers continued to exchange fire with the militant group as of Sunday.

It was the third in a series of attacks carried out by Boko Haram in Cameroon that have killed four soldiers since Friday this week, adding to the hundreds of people killed by the group this year. Nigeria, on the other hand, has put at least 22 suspected Boko Haram militants behind bars with sentences ranging from 10 to 20 years, Reuters detailed.

Control of Damboa town gave Boko Haram the freedom to move to other areas, with its major highway linked to northern and southern districts of Borno and to borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The effort of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to battle the militant group appears to be failing with Nigerian military's limited capability to combat the militant group. Last year, the president had to declare a state of emergency in the areas of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa to intensify security.

The government has also been criticized for lack of progress in finding over 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in Chibok, Nigeria this year. The schoolgirls, some of whom are feared to have been killed, remain in captivity as of July 2014.

TagsBoko Haram, Nigeria, Cameroon