More than 100 women and children have reportedly been abducted by suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province fighters following a large-scale assault on Ngoshe, a remote community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.

Local and security sources say the attackers first targeted a military base of the 82 Division Task Force Battalion on the outskirts of the town before advancing on Ngoshe itself and an adjoining camp for internally displaced persons. The militants were said to be heavily armed and in large numbers, overwhelming the soldiers stationed in the area.

According to a security source familiar with the incident, the insurgents overpowered the troops after a fierce exchange of fire, forcing surviving soldiers and residents to flee toward nearby bushes and surrounding communities. At least nine bodies of soldiers were later recovered, though sources cautioned that the true death toll among both security personnel and civilians could be higher.

Witnesses reported that the assailants burned armoured vehicles and other military assets, carting away a large quantity of weapons and ammunition. After seizing the base, the fighters moved into Ngoshe town, where they allegedly carried out a mass abduction of women and children and executed prominent community figures.

The town’s chief imam and several elders were among those killed, with one local source describing how they were slaughtered in front of terrified residents. The attack occurred shortly after Muslims in the community had broken their fast, leaving many families gathered in their homes when the gunmen struck.

Residents who managed to escape have fled to the nearby town of Pulka and other safer locations, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis in the region. Many of those displaced had only recently returned from refugee settlements in neighbouring Cameroon, encouraged by gradual improvements in security.

Community members and security sources suspect that informants may have aided the attackers by providing detailed information about troop deployments and civilian movements. One source insisted that such a coordinated operation would have been difficult without inside help, pointing to the precision with which the militants struck both the military base and the civilian population.

As families search for missing relatives, the fate of the abducted women and children remains unknown, heightening fears of forced recruitment, slavery and further violence in an area long scarred by insurgency.