Evacuation of people trapped by militant attack in Mozambique runs into ambush, reports say

The attempted evacuation of people trapped during an attack in northern Mozambique by Islamist militants has led to multiple casualties, with dozens of people still unaccounted for, according to reports, in what the US embassy in Maputo is calling a "horrific situation."

The town of Palma in Cabo Delgado province was attacked by Islamist insurgents on Wednesday, according to multiple sources contacted by CNN. Witnesses reported seeing bodies in the streets after the insurgents, believed to be affiliated with the terrorist group ISIS, attacked Palma from three directions, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday. According to several accounts provided to CNN, a convoy of about 17 vehicles left Palma on late Friday afternoon. There were many foreign workers in the convoy as well as Mozambicans. Palma is near a major natural gas project run by the French company Total.