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Nigerian soldiers on Wednesday hastily attacked Boko Haram's jihadists in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, security sources and residents told AFP.
The attack, the latest of a wave of badaults by Islamist gunmen, was postponed just hours before President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in for a second term.
The soldiers intercepted a "large number" of Boko Haram fighters on the outskirts of Maiduguri on Tuesday night, beginning a night battle that continued until close to dawn on Wednesday.
"Our troops have done an impressive job and pushed back the terrorists," said a military source who asked to be named.
The troops fought all night and "forced them to retreat at dawn," the source said.
A member of a self-defense militia, who fights alongside regular troops, said that Boko Haram's forces had been sighted as they headed for the city in the dark.
"Fortunately, they were seen by soldiers who fought them all night," said the militia fighter.
The inhabitants of the city reported the sounds of an intense battle.
"We heard explosions and gunfire all night," said Nasiru Fannami, a Maiduguri resident.
It was not clear if there were any victims.
Boko Haram activists launched several unsuccessful attempts to invade Maiduguri.
Their decade-long campaign of violence has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions of people in the region.
The violence spread to neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, pushing a regional military coalition to fight the jihadist group.
Buhari, who was sworn into the presidency for a second term four years later on Wednesday, said the defeat of Boko Haram – and the end of a series of other security threats – constituted a essential element of his work.
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