Boko Haram militants kidnapped 40 boys and young men from a village in northeastern Nigeria, residents who escaped the militants said.
Armed with assault rifles, the militants stormed Malari village in Nigeria's Borno state on New Year's Eve, preaching about the group's Islamist ideals, witnesses who fled the village told CNN.
At least 40 boys and men between ages 10 and 23 were rounded up and driven away towards the Sambisa forest. Several villagers fled and arrived in the state capital Maiduguri late Friday, according to the BBC.
A lack of communication resources led to a delay in reporting of the New Year's Eve kidnapping, just one of dozens carried out by the Islamist extremist group, which the U.S. declared a terrorist organization in 2013.
In December, about 200 people were kidnapped after Boko Haram fighters raided the Borno village of Gumsuri, a witness told the BBC. At least 33 villagers were killed.
Last August, the group killed 28 people and abducted nearly 100 boys and men in another raid on Doron Baga village, locals told CNN.
Boko Haram's five-year insurgency has killed and displaced thousands in an attempt to enforce strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria. Officials placed Borno, Adamawa and Yobe in a state of emergency more than 18 months ago. But the violence has only increased, even with government officials vowing to take out the terrorists, the BBC reported.
"We will bring justice to the savage terrorists known as Boko Haram," Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said during his New Year's address. "They will be defeated."
