Maiduguri, August 7 (RHC)-- Islamist Boko Haram militants have attacked a town in northeastern Nigeria, killing dozens of people.

Local residents say that the group reportedly attacked the restive town of Gwoza, some 135 kilometers from Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Borno State, on Wednesday, killing dozens and forcing many to flee their homes.

Witnesses say the attackers either stabbed or shot their victims. They also said the militants burnt down the divisional police headquarters, the local government secretariat, and other public buildings in the town.

Area residents said there were no soldiers to defend the town during the attack. A Nigerian security source said earlier in the day that suspected Boko Haram militants killed 10 people and abducted a child in a road attack near the Nigerian border in Cameroon.

The notorious Islamist group has repeatedly targeted Nigerian civilians, mostly in Borno, killing more than 2,000 civilians since January.

On April 14th, Boko Haram, which means Western education is forbidden, kidnapped 276 students from their secondary school in the town of Chibok in Borno. Reports say 57 of the girls managed to escape, but 219 are still believed to be in captivity, and international efforts to locate and rescue them have failed so far.