ABUJA, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's army on Monday confirmed that Boko Haram fighters who launched an attack on a military base in the northeastern state of Yobe were killed, without disclosing the number of deaths.
The army said in a statement that troops had engaged the Boko Haram fighters in a gunfight for more than two hours on Sunday evening when they attacked the Nigerian Army's 27 Task Force Brigade and its Special Forces School in Buni Yadi, about 45 km from Damaturu, Yobe's state capital.
The attack was launched by the terror group barely 24 hours before President Muhammadu Buhari's visit to Damaturu for his re-election campaign on Monday.
Nureni Alimi, a spokesman for the army, did not give the exact number of terrorists killed during the confrontation.
The statement, however, said various arms and ammunition, including two gun trucks, were recovered from the terrorists. It also confirmed four soldiers sustained minor injuries during the gunfight.
Boko Haram has been trying since 2009 to establish an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria.
The terror group has so far killed about 20,000 people, forcing the displacement of millions of others in the most populous African country.
