Reports coming from southern Borno town of Buratai, the home town of the Army Chief, Lt Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai say a battle between the Nigerian troops and Islamic militants Boko Haram in the early hours of Saturday left many dead and more injured.

Residents of the area told newsmen on phone that Boko Haram gunmen launched a dawn raid on Buratai village, triggering a fierce gun battle.

Sound of artillery was heard in neigbouring villages.

According to Inusa Ibrahim, a lot of people from Buratai and neigbouring villages ran to Biu for cover.

He said soldiers from Biu were seen rushing to the troubled area early in the morning.

“Nine trucks conveying soldiers and another four carrying local hunters drove through our village towards Buratai this morning but we are yet to see them return,” he added.

Some of the residents of Buratai fled to Miringa, where they took refuge in a primary school, locals said.

Buratai and nearby villages have come under heavy attacks lately.

It is believed that the attacks are in retaliation to recent military gains against the Boko Haram insurgents, a mission led by the Chief of Army Staff, under the Operation Lafya Dole with headquarters in Maiduguri, the epicenter of the Boko Haram insurgency.

President Muhammadu Buhari had given the military December 31 deadline to crush Boko Haram.

The sect has killed over 18,000 and displaced around 2.6 million people since 2009.

The situation aggravated last Saturday, when Boko Haram disguised as preachers and killed 30 people, injuring 20 others in raids on three villages near Buratai.

More killings were witnessed earlier in the week as the insurgents killed 14 people, some decapitated, when they stormed Kamuya village, the hometown of Buratai’s mother.