Suspected Nigerian Boko
Haram militants have carried out an attack on Chad overnight, the first
such assault on Chadian soil,
security sources say.Officials said the fighters crossed Lake Chad by motorboat and attacked a village on the shores of the lake.
The militants were pushed back by Chadian troops after killing several people, residents said.
Chad recently joined Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon in a military coalition against Boko Haram.
Residents said around 30 militants attacked the village of Ngouboua, torching two-thirds of its homes.
"They came on board three canoes and succeeded in killing about 10 people before being pushed back by the army," one resident told Reuters.
The number of casualties was unconfirmed but Chadian officials told the BBC that a local chief had been killed during the attack.
Chadian military aircraft carried out airstrikes against the militants, destroying their vessels, officials told AFP.
Approximately 7,000 people fled to the village of Ngouboua after Boko Haram attacked the Nigerian town of Baga across the border in January.
Chad has recently deployed troops in Cameroon and Nigeria to help fight the Boko Haram insurgency.
The Islamist militant group has intensified its attacks against Nigeria's neighbours over the past fortnight, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes.
Source:BBC
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