Boko Haram Fighters Behead Three in Cameroon Raid

Three villagers were beheaded during a weekend raid in Cameroon by Boko Haram jihadist fighters from neighboring Nigeria, security forces said Monday.

The attacks took place on Sunday in the neighboring villages of Tchebe-Tchebe and Dzaba, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the Nigerian border, said a security agent based in the region.

The raiders also set fire to land owned by villagers and a Catholic church, the source added.

Sunday's violence followed a series of Boko Haram suicide bombings in the far north of Cameroon, which is taking part in a regional military campaign against the extremists.

The report was confirmed by another local security sourc, who said that access to the villages was difficult for troops because of the mountainous terrain.

The cross-border region is frequently attacked by Boko Haram, which launched its armed insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, at an estimated cost of more than 15,000 lives.

On Saturday night, a 12-year-old girl blew herself up in the town of Maroua, killing at least 20 people and wounding 79 others in the fifth suicide bombing inside Cameroon in two weeks.

Cameroonian authorities last week banned the wearing of the full Islamic veil in the east of the country, because the garment can conceal explosives. The ban already applies in the north and west, but is not nationwide.