A married church pastor who was a father to eight children was kidnapped and then killed by suspected members of Islamic militant group Boko Haram, from a location in the north of Cameroon.

Pastor Kesvere Jean Marcel, a missionary connected to the Fraternal Lutheran Church, was grabbed and then slaughtered by the fanatics at the same time as two Cameroonian soldiers were kidnapped sometime last weekend, 26 to 27 July. He leaves behind a devoted wife as well as the children.

The tragedy unfolded as part of an abduction spree by the militants who targeted towns in the north of Cameroon last week, kidnapping an unknown number of people.

Kolofata town was stormed by Boko Haram on 26 July which saw them shooting wildly and ransacking houses. The Deputy Prime Minister Amadou Ali’s wife and her maid were abducted as the family celebrated Ramadan at home. He was escorted to a nearby town as a security measure by police following the incident. Mayor Seini Boukar Lamine, a well-known religious leader, was also taken by the militants and three people were killed in that attack.

Boko Haram militants, who have persecuted regularly both Christians and Muslims in Northern Nigeria, have also made raids into Chad, Niger, and Cameroon which lie along borders of the nation.

The group tried to extort traders in the far north of Cameroon at the end of 2013 by demanding that the people of Mayo-Sava implement Islamic law and block co-operation with westerners.

Boko Haram has been under the media spotlight after kidnapping 273 Christian and Muslim school girls from the enclave of Chibok in Nigeria – the students are still missing.

In a separate incident, Boko Haram was believed to have organised the throwing of a bomb at churchgoers leaving a catholic church in the northern city of Kano in Nigeria on 27 July – five people were killed.