Earlier on Monday, the army had on Twitter confirmed an ongoing fierce battlebetween the troops and the terrorists but did not give details.

According to BBC, the terrorists attacked the army base in large numbers, but with the support of fighter jets, troops regained control of the village.

The broadcast station quoted one of the soldiers as saying that the terrorists came with “heavy weapons which we didn’t have”.

“Several of the militants were killed in the fighting which lasted for several hours,” a resident told the station.

The Federal Government and the army have on several occasions expressed confidence that the insurgents have been largely and "technically" defeated, but they (Boko Haram) continue to strike in Borno villages intermittently.