At least 68 people , including children , were massacred by suspected Boko Haram militants as they attended morning prayers . Men and boys were targeted by gunmen after they stormed Njaba in eastern Nigeria before burning the remote village to the ground . The assault took place early on Tuesday as many villagers in the isolated community were heading to morning prayers . 'The attack was not immediately known because the village is very remote and our men could n't access the area , ' said a military source . Nigerian troops have been struggling to control Boko Haram . Pictured : Chardian soldiers near the front line in Gambaru , Nigeria . One woman , Falmata Bisika , 62 , lost four of her grandchildren in the raid , which she said was carried out by gunmen 'armed to the teeth ' with weapons and explosives . The militants destroyed homes and businesses with petrol bombs and shot anyone attempting to flee , 'especially teenagers and the elderly ' , she said . Muminu Haruna , 42 , said he hid in a grain silo behind his house for several hours with about eight other people until the gunmen left . ' I participated in the counting of dead bodies ... 68 people were killed , ' he said in an account supported by two civilian vigilantes . 'These included both males and females , some were slaughtered and others shot dead and most of the houses in our village have been destroyed . ' Njaba is 20 kilometres from the town of Damboa , which was seized by Boko Haram last June , forcing thousands to flee , but later recaptured by troops helped by civilian vigilantes . Boko Haram 's six-year insurgency to carve out an Islamic state in the northeast of Nigeria has killed thousands and displaced over 1.5 million people . The group gained worldwide notoriety in April 2014 after its members kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibokin Borno state , the heartland of Boko Haram . The slow government response sparked the movement Bring BackOur Girls that has been seeking international support and lobbying the government to keep up the search . Today , a representative for President Goodluck met the girls ' families in Maiduguri . Boko Haram control a large area of Borno state and have also carried out cross-border raids in Cameroon , Niger , and Chad . A military coalition has recaptured several towns in recent weeks . Chadian soldiers patrol in the border town of Gamboru , Nigeria , after taking control of the city , February 4 , 2015 . A screen grab made on January 20 , 2015 from a video of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram shows Abubakar Shekau , the group 's leader , delivering a message at an unknown location . Chad 's well-trained army has offered a huge boost to Nigeria in recent weeks , recapturing towns in border areas and pushing into territory near Boko Haram 's Sambisa Forest training camps . Chadian President Idriss Deby yesterday claimed he knew where Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was and called on him to surrender or be killed . The Nigerian authorities have declared Shekau dead three times but the military has since reportedly said that they want the militant leader captured alive .
Armed militants stormed village of Njaba in eastern Nigeria at dawn . Gunmen targeted men and boys before burning village to ground . Boko Haram believed to be behind the attack in isolated community . Witnesses said raiders were 'armed to teeth ' with weapons and explosives . Sambisa Forest say 68 were killed and anyone attempting to flee was shot .