Boko Haram kidnaps wife of Cameroon's vice PM

Boko Haram Takfiri militants have kidnapped the wife of Cameroon's vice prime minister during a attack in the northern town of Kolofata, an official says.

"I can confirm that the home of Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali in Kolofata came under a savage attack from Boko Haram militants," Issa Tchiroma said on Sunday.

"They unfortunately took away his wife,” he added.

Tchiroma added that the Takfiri militants also abducted mayor of the city Seini Boukar Lamine, who was a local religious leader or lamido, in a separate attack. The militants also killed three people in the second attack.

The Sunday raid is the third Boko Haram strike into Cameroon since Friday.

At least four soldiers were killed in the previous attacks.

Boko Haram, a Takfiri militant group operating in neighboring Nigeria, has stepped up cross-border attacks into Cameroon in recent weeks.

The development came two months after Cameroon declared war on Boko Haram in response to atrocities committed by the Takfiri group.

The notorious group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009. It has repeatedly targeted civilians, killing more than 2,000 people since January.

In mid-April, the Takfiri group abducted around 300 teenage schoolgirls from Chibok school in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno.

According to latest reports, more than 3,000 Nigerians, who fled attacks by Boko Haram, have taken refuge in neighboring Cameroon.

Boko Haram - whose name means “Western education is forbidden” - says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.