Report from Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) — Boko Haram launched a grisly attack on a Nigerian village in an area that troops had been using as a base in the search for hundreds of schoolgirls abducted by the militant group, witnesses told CNN on Wednesday.
The hourslong assault on Gamboru Ngala that left at least 150 people dead, some of whom were burned alive, is the latest in a series of brazen attacks and abductions by Boko Haram, raising concern about whether the Nigerian government can retake control of the region from the entrenched terror group.
Word of the attack follows news that President Goodluck Jonathan, who has been under fire for his handling of the mass abduction, accepted U.S., British and Chinese offers of assistance to find the schoolgirls, officials with those governments said.
It’s unclear what impact the latest attack could have on the international response to Nigeria’s fight with Boko Haram, which so far has concentrated on helping the government rescue 276 schoolgirls abducted on April 14.
The assault on the village came after military troops deployed to the area were called to the border area near Chad, where reports — later determined to be false — surfaced that the schoolgirls had been found with Boko Haram militants, witnesses and local officials said.
CNN cannot independently confirm the report, and attempts Wednesday to contact Nigeria’s military for comment were unsuccessful.