Panic and chaos as Boko Haram storms key Nigerian towns

People stand outside burnt houses following an attack by Islamic militants in Gambaru, Nigeria. Thousands of members of Nigeria’s home-grown Islamic extremist Boko Haram group strike across the border in Cameroon, with coordinated attacks on border towns, a troop convoy and a major barracks.

Panic and chaos erupted in northeastern Nigeria Sunday as hundreds of Boko Haram fighters poured into two strategic towns in pre-dawn strikes that escalated into pitched battles as Nigerian army troops responded.

"It is flying bullets everywhere. All we hear are sounds of guns and explosions," said Buba Kyari, who was among those caught up in the explosion of violence when Boko Haram struck the southern suburbs of Borno State's capital Maiduguri.