Maputo — At least four people have died following a terrorist attack against Napala village, Chiúre district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.

According to local residents, speaking on Friday during a working visit to Chiure by the Secretary of State of Cabo Delgado, Fernando Bemane, the victims are elderly people who were burned to death by the jihadists.

The attack took place between October 10 and 11, after the people abandoned the place due to attacks by groups of insurgents. When residents began returning, they found a scene of destruction and death.

"We mourn the deaths of four elderly victims. When the terrorists arrived, they burned down all the houses and killed them', one villager said.

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According to local reports, the terrorists burned down more than 2,500 houses, affecting approximately 3,800 people. A local school was also set on fire, leaving more than 500 students without classes.

The sources also said that the terrorists also kidnapped children whose whereabouts are still unknown.

"They burned the entire village. Not even ten houses remain standing. The terrorists kidnapped four minors, aged 10 to 13. Their whereabouts we still don't know', a source said.

For his part, Bemane condemned the attacks and encouraged the "to use local resources to rebuild their homes, while the government distributes essential goods to minimize the suffering of affected families.'

In 2024 alone, at least 349 people died in attacks in northern Mozambique, most claimed by the extremist group Islamic State. This was a 36 per cent increase over the previous year, according to a study released by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (ACSS), an academic institution of the U.S. Department of Defence.

Since 2017, extremist attacks in Cabo Delgado have killed at least 4,500 people and displaced over one million. Almost 5,000 small businesses have been destroyed, leaving communities without livelihoods.