Fighters suspected of being members of Boko Haram kidnapped around 80 people Sunday in an attack on villages across the border from Nigeria in Cameroon, Reuters reports. Many of those taken were children.

"According to our initial information, around 30 adults, most of them herders, and 50 young girls and boys aged between 10 and 15 years were abducted," a senior army officer told Reuters.

Cameroon's Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary confirmed the attacks to the BBC. "They burnt to ashes almost 80 houses," he said, saying also that the exact number of people kidnapped had not yet been confirmed.

Cameroon's border with Nigeria is "long and porous," the BBC reports; Boko Haram's leader recently warned that raids across the border will increase in intensity.

Thousands of Cameroonian troops have been deployed to the region, supplemented by troops from Chad. According to the BBC, Chad's military has "an impressive record of taking on insurgents."

[Photo credit: AP Images]