Members of the Boko Haram sect killed more than 100 people during an attack on the north Cameroon town of Fotokol, murdering residents inside their homes and in a mosque, a local civic leader said on Wednesday.

“Boko Haram entered Fotokol through Gambaru early in the morning and they killed more than 100 people in the mosque, in the houses and they burned property,” Reuters quoted the local leader as saying.

The man said the militants shot one of his sons dead during the raid.

Earlier reports say the attack on the town of Fotokol in Cameroon by members of the terrorist group was repelled.

Cameroonian Information Minister, Issa Tchiroma, said the fighting in Fotokol had lasted several hours.

“The insurgents have been driven out. They tried to surprise us because the Chadian troops who were in Fotokol had crossed over to Nigeria,” he said.

The attack represents the latest cross-border incursion by Boko Haram, who operate near Nigeria’s borders with Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

•Photo shows Boko Haram chiefs.