Boko Haram Militants Attack Chad

Nigerian Boko Haram militants have carried out an attack on Chad overnight, the first such assault on Chadian soil, officials say.

Fighters crossed Lake Chad in four motorboats and attacked a village, an army spokesman told the BBC.

The Islamist militants were pushed back by Chadian troops after killing several people, residents said.

Chad recently joined Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon in a military coalition against Boko Haram.

The jihadists, who want to create their own Islamic caliphate in Nigeria, have killed thousands and forced millions to flee their homes in the country's north-east Nigeria since 2009.

'Homes torched'Colonel Azem Bermandoua Agouna, of the Chadian military, told the BBC's Thomas Fessy that the militants had killed one soldier and wounded a further four in the village of Ngouboua.

Mr Agouna said a local chief was killed during the attack by a stray bullet. He did not confirm reports of other civilian casualties.

Two Boko Haram militants were killed and five injured, he said.

Residents put the number of attackers at around 30 and said they torched two-thirds of the village's homes.

"They came on board three canoes and succeeded in killing about 10 people before being pushed back by the army," one resident told Reuters.

Chadian military aircraft carried out air strikes against the militants in response, destroying their vessels, officials said.