Suspected militants abducted an unspecified number of students from a primary and junior secondary school in Nigeria’s insurgency-ravaged ​northeastern state of Borno on Friday, residents said.

Gunmen stormed ‌Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira-Uba Local Government Area at around 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) while classes were in session and took several ​students, said Ubaidallah Hasaan, who lives near the school.

A teacher ​at the school told Reuters that the armed attackers ⁠had arrived on motorcycles.

“Despite some students escaping to the bushes, ​I can tell you many were taken away,” the teacher said.

No ​group claimed responsibility for the attack which bore the hallmark of the Islamist militia Boko Haram.

In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped more than 270 girls in ​Chibok in Borno state, drawing global condemnation. The state has ​not witnessed another school kidnapping since.

Nigeria’s police and military did not immediately respond ‌to ⁠a request for comment.

The community of Mussa lies near the fringes of the Sambisa Forest, a long-standing stronghold of Islamist insurgents who have waged a campaign of violence in northeast Nigeria for ​more than a ​decade.

Local lawmaker Midala ⁠Usman Balami called the attack “heartbreaking” and urged authorities to act swiftly.

Borno and neighbouring states have seen ​repeated attacks on schools and communities despite ongoing ​military operations, ⁠raising concerns about security gaps in rural areas.

Mass kidnappings by armed groups have become a major security challenge in Nigeria in recent ⁠years, ​with schools often targeted, although such attacks ​are less frequent in the northeast than in the northwest.

REUTERS