Editor's note: The witnesses to the attacks in northeastern Nigeria have told CNN their names may be used in this article. Their names have now been added.
Kano, Nigeria (CNN) -- Scores of residents in four villages in the northeastern Borno state of Nigeria, near the border with Cameroon, were killed Tuesday in Boko Haram (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/17/world/africa/boko-haram-explainer/') raids, a lawmaker and residents said.
They said hundreds of homes were destroyed.
Heavily armed gunmen dressed as soldiers in all-terrain vehicles and on motorcycles attacked Goshe, Attagara, Agapalwa and Aganjara villages in Gwoza district, shooting residents and burning homes.
Villagers fled into neighboring Cameroon to escape the onslaughts, said Peter Biye, a lawmaker from the area who serves in the Nigerian lower parliament.
(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140528090226-boko-haram-survivor-peters-interview-newday-00005306-story-body.jpg)Her family was killed in front of her (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) Women in Abuja, Nigeria, hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday, May 14, one month after nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The abductions have attracted national and international outrage. People march in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, May 12, to demand the release of schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok. Catholic faithful take Holy Communion and pray for the safety of the kidnapped schoolgirls in a morning Mass in their honor in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, on Sunday, May 11. Catholic faithful attend a morning Mass in honor of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 11. Catholics nuns pray during a morning Mass in honor of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 11. A woman attends a demonstration Tuesday, May 6, that called for the Nigerian government to rescue nearly 300 schoolgirls who were kidnapped last month in Chibok, Nigeria. The girls were taken by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Abuja Hosea Sambido, a leader in the Chibok community, speaks during a rally in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 6, pressing for the release of the abducted girls. Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, Nigeria's top military spokesman, speaks to people at a demonstration on May 6. Women march Monday, May 5, in Chibok. People rally in Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday, May 1. Police stand guard during a demonstration in Lagos on May 1. Protesters take part in a "million woman march" on Wednesday, April 30, in Abuja. Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Nigerian education minister and vice president of the World Bank's Africa division, leads a march of women in Abuja on April 30. A woman cries out during a demonstration Tuesday, April 29, in Abuja with other mothers whose daughters have been kidnapped. A man weeps as he joins parents of the kidnapped girls during a meeting with the Borno state governor in Chibok on Tuesday, April 22. Mothers weep during a meeting with the Borno state governor on April 22 in Chibok. Four female students who were abducted by gunmen and reunited with their families walk in Chibok on Monday, April 21. Borno state governor Kashim Shettima, center, visits the Chibok school on April 21. Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls HIDE CAPTION << < (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140515175206-33-week-in-photos-0515-topics.jpg) 1 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512095958-01-nigeria-0512-topics.jpg) 2 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511103218-01-nigeria-girls-0511-topics.jpg) 3 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511103509-02-nigeria-girls-0511-topics.jpg) 4 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511103741-03-nigeria-girls-0511-topics.jpg) 5 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506185644-01-nigerian-kidnapping-protest-0506-topics.jpg) 6 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140507123348-01-nigeria-0507-topics.jpg) 7 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506185823-02-nigerian-kidnapping-protest-0506-topics.jpg) 8 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110255-01-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 9 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110436-restricted-02-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 10 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110703-03-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 11 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501065549-01-chibok-schoolgirls-restricted-topics.jpg) 12 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075910-02-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 13 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075917-03-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 14 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110833-04-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 15 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075924-04-chibok-schoolgirls-restricted-topics.jpg) 16 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075930-05-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 17 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075936-06-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 18 > >> (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140515175206-33-week-in-photos-0515-horizontal-gallery.jpg) Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140521141333-nigeria-violence---s033608708-story-body.jpg)No sign of Nigerian violence slowing "We are still trying to compile a toll of the dead as people on the ground are still counting the number of casualties," said Biye.
Residents of these villages fled their homes while soldiers have deployed in the area to fight the Islamists who have taken control of at least seven villages, the lawmaker said.
On Wednesday, military jets carried out aerial bombardment on Boko Haram positions in the affected area to dislodge the insurgents, he said.
Boko Haram: A bloody insurgency, a growing challenge (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/17/world/africa/boko-haram-explainer/')
Goshe resident Abba Goni said at least 100 people were killed in the village, but there is no independent confirmation.
"They laid siege on the village and opened fire with Kalashnikovs and fired RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades), burning the entire village with its 300 homes and a few mosques," said Goni, who fled to Gamboru Ngala town.
"We lost many people including vigilantes who tried to fight off the Boko Haram attackers."
At the predominately Christian village of Attagara, the insurgents set fire to homes and a church and killed dozens of residents, according to Bulus Yashi, who fled to Gamboru Ngala.
"It was a reprisal attack over the casualties Boko Haram suffered in the village in two previous attacks," Yoshi said.
On Sunday, around a dozen motorcycle-riding gunmen opened fire on a church in the village killing nine worshippers.
However, residents mobilized and pursued the attackers, killing four and arresting four others, Yashi said.
Nigeria: Islamic leader on way to funeral killed by militants (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/30/world/africa/nigeria-violence/index.html')
Villagers had repelled a May 25 attack on the village, killing seven Boko Haram gunmen, he said.
"We believed they came on a revenge mission," Yashi said.
Boko Haram Islamists have in recent times stepped up raids in northern Borno state near the border with Cameroon, Chad and Niger, pillaging villages, looting food stores and killing residents.
With no communication in the region because of the destruction of mobile phone towers by the insurgents, news of attacks is slow to emerge and verification of death tolls difficult to obtain.
Protests for kidnapped girls banned in Nigerian capital (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/02/world/africa/nigeria-protests-ban/index.html')
Boko Haram raids Nigerian villages, killing 35 (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/29/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram/index.html')
Military official claims he knows whereabouts of kidnapped girls (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/26/world/africa/nigeria-kidnapped-girls/index.html')
Source: CNN.com