Gunmen believed to be Islamist militants stormed a town in northeastern Nigeria on Friday, carrying off hundreds of residents, including women and children, according to local authorities.

The raid targeted Ngoshe, a community in Borno state. Bulama Sawa, an official from the Gwoza area, told The Associated Press that more than 300 people were taken during the assault. He said the attack may have been retaliation after Nigerian troops recently killed three commanders linked to the Boko Haram insurgency.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the abductions. Nigeria is grappling with a layered security crisis driven by multiple armed factions operating across different regions. The United States has deployed troops to the West African country to advise and assist Nigeria’s military as it confronts escalating insecurity.

READ ALSO: Amnesty reports 15 killed in simultaneous northern Nigeria attacks

The Ngoshe incident came after a string of assaults earlier in the week. A military spokesperson said attacks were reported in the communities of Konduga, Marte, Jakana and Mainok between Wednesday and early Friday.

According to the spokesperson, Uba Sani, soldiers managed to push back those offensives in the four communities. However, the clashes came at a cost.

“a number of brave soldiers paid the supreme price in the line of duty,” Sani said, adding that a senior officer was also killed. He did not provide further details about the military’s casualties.

Sani described the incidents as “failed attacks” and argued they reflected the “increasing desperation of terrorist elements under sustained operational pressure” from Nigerian forces.

READ ALSO: Northwest Nigeria hit by coordinated assault as 33 are killed

Security analysts say the battlefield reality remains complicated. Ulf Laessing of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation said the raid on Ngoshe highlights how difficult it has been for Nigeria’s army to secure vast rural areas where militant groups move freely.

Militant factions are also increasingly coordinating across borders and using drones to identify targets before launching strikes, he said.

“The army is fighting a ghost — fighters descending with motorbikes on villages and disappearing into the bush before the army can respond in time,” said Laessing.

Nigeria’s militant landscape includes several groups with overlapping agendas. Among the most prominent are Boko Haram and its splinter faction tied to the Islamic State group, known as Islamic State West Africa Province. Other armed actors include the IS-linked Lakurawa network and criminal “bandit” gangs that rely heavily on kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining.

The crisis has also begun to draw in militants from the wider Sahel. Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, a group active in neighboring countries, claimed its first attack inside Nigeria last year.

READ ALSO: U.S. troops arrive in Nigeria for training as security crisis deepens

United Nations data indicates that several thousand people have died in the violence. Analysts say the government has yet to mount an effective response capable of protecting communities across the country.