Breaking News: Boko Haram Burns Northeast Nigeria Town

Witnesses in northeastern Nigeria say Boko Haram militants have stormed a small city and burned much of it down, VOA has reported. Fleeing residents say militants first raided Askira Uba in Borno state on Sunday, torching the home of the city's top official. They say the militants returned late Monday and set fire to homes and public buildings. Able-bodied residents have fled the Borno state town in droves, leaving the sick and elderly behind. Reports say residents alerted the military, but did not receive help. Also Monday, suspected Boko Haram militants killed five soldiers during a cross-border attack in northern Cameroon. Cameroon's military said Tuesday the soldiers were killed during a "series of clashes" with the militants the day before. Officers say Boko Haram attacked a military base in the Waza region, but were driven back. The army says many of the attackers were killed. Cameroon, Niger, and Chad are helping Nigeria fight the Islamic extremist group. In response, Boko Haram has launched attacks in all three countries during the past two weeks. On Monday, representatives of the Economic Community of Central African States met in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, and announced they are contributing $86 million to help fight the militants. On Tuesday, the commander of U.S. Special Forces Operations in Africa, James Linder, told Reuters news service that the United States will provide communications equipment and intelligence to the effort. He said the technology will allow African forces to communicate between cellphones, radios and computers. He said it will also provide a translation function that will enable French speakers and English speakers to communicate with each other by message. Boko Haram has killed thousands of Nigerians during the past five years and controls numerous towns and villages in the northeast. Regional concern grew after the extremists seized a multi-national military base last month on Lake Chad. Boko Haram has warned Nigerians not to take part in presidential and parliamentary elections set for March 28. The polls were originally scheduled for February 14 but electoral officials postponed them for six weeks, saying Boko Haram posed too big a security threat.