Fifteen people were shot dead in an overnight attack in north Cameroon, blamed on Boko Haram Islamists, a security source said Friday.

The attack happened in the town of Gakara close to the Nigerian border.

“Boko Haram shot 15 people dead… and kidnapped eight people, three of whom were returned on Friday,” added the source, who wished to remain anonymous.

A total of 35 houses were torched in the attack which happened around 11:00pm, according to a local vigilante group member.

“There were many of them,” said the source.

Gakara is just a kilometre from the Nigerian border town of Kerawa where the Boko Haram Islamists had long been in control.

The eight-year conflict by the Sunni jihadist group aimed at establishing a hard-line Islamic Caliphate in Nigeria has left at least 20,000 people dead and displaced 2.6 million, creating one of world’s major humanitarian catastrophes.

The violence has split into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon. (AFP)