BOKO HARAM extremists launched attacks on three communities in northern Cameroon today, abducting more than 30 people including those the passengers of a packed bus.

The assaults by the Nigeria-based terror group coincided with a third strike in as many days on the town of Diffa in neighbouring Niger, underscoring the growing regional havoc wreaked by the group.

“Gunfire and heavy explosions were heard throughout the night,” said Diffa radio station boss Adam Boukar.

The jihadists have stepped up their attacks on neighbouring countries after Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin pledged to send troops to help Nigeria squash the extremist group that has killed more than 10,000 people over the past year.

They seized a bus with 20 people aboard in Koza, northern Cameroon, late on Sunday then drove it back toward the Nigerian border 11 miles away.

Another group of fighters attacked the Cameroonian town of Kolofata this morning, looting food and livestock.

The town had been recently retaken by Chadian troops as part of general assistance to the Cameroonian military fighting Boko Haram.

Regional and African Union officials, meeting in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde on Saturday, proposed a force of as many as 8,750 troops to combat the guerillas, with soldiers coming from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin.

Officials said that the force could be deployed as early as next month, though a lack of money could delay its launch.