Gunmen Kidnap German National in Northeast Nigeria

Gunmen riding on motorcycles kidnapped a German national on Wednesday in northeast Nigeria, police said, in the latest violence to hit the area which has come under repeated attacks from Boko Haram militants.

"Security agents are working assiduously to track down the kidnappers and free the hostage," Adamawa police spokesman Othman Abubakar said of the early morning abduction in the town of Gombi, while confirming the victim's nationality.

A German foreign ministry spokesman told Agence France Presse he "was aware of the case" but declined to comment further.

Residents in Gombi, roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Yola -- the capital of Adamawa state, identified the hostage as an instructor at a government-run technical training center.

They said he was attacked by about 20 gunmen outside his home in the Anguwan Faransa (French quarters) neighborhood as he left for work.

"The kidnappers were riding on 10 motorcycles, two on each, and laid ambush around the house of the German expatriate," said resident Yakubu Jauro who lives in the same area.

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, initial blame will likely fall on Boko Haram, which wants to create a hardline Islamic state in Muslim-majority northern Nigeria.

Boko Haram, which loosely translates as "Western education is forbidden", opposes schools that teach a so-called Western curriculum and has launched previous attacks on teachers and students.

An offshoot of Boko Haram, known as Ansaru, has also claimed the kidnapping of at least eight foreigners in northern Nigeria since 2012, but the group has been largely dormant for more than a year.