Kano , Nigeria ( CNN ) Suspected Boko Haram gunmen shot dead and slit the throats of 68 people -- including children -- in an attack on a village in Nigeria 's Borno state , according to survivors and vigilante sources . The attackers then burned down the entire village of Njaba , the sources said . Dozens of gunmen invaded the remote northeastern village before dawn Tuesday , singling out boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 19 and killing them alongside their parents , witnesses said . Njaba village lies about 65 kilometers ( 40 miles ) south of Maiduguri , the capital of Borno state . Karimu Lawani , who escaped to Maiduguri after hiding with eight other people behind the barn of a neighbor , said the attackers came into the village at around 5 a.m. `` They shot dead anyone that tried to flee but spared children younger than 13 years old , '' Lawani said . He and other survivors counted the victims of the massacre before leaving the village some hours later . His account was supported by Faltama Bisika , 62 , who lost four grandchildren in the attack . `` They hurled petrol bombs into homes and opened fire on anyone trying to flee . They particularly targeted teenagers and elderly people , '' Bisika said . News of the attack was slow to emerge due to lack of communication following destruction of cell phone towers in the region in previous Boko Haram attacks . `` I only got information of the attack on my village last night , '' said a civilian vigilante from Njaba who asked not to be named . The vigilante said his father was among those killed . The vigilante said he left Njaba for Maiduguri in June to join others fighting against the Islamist radical group . He said he believes the attackers came from Gwoza -- a town on Nigeria 's mountainous border with Cameroon that Boko Haram seized last June -- because Njaba `` lies on the route to Gwoza from Maiduguri . ''
Young victims in the village of Njaba , ages eight were singled out for killing , witness says . `` They hurled petrol bombs into homes and opened fire on anyone trying to flee , '' witness says .