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Boko Haram's jihadists controlled a town in northeastern Nigeria on Saturday after ransacking a military base during the latest attack that raised questions about allegations that they were weakened to the point of defeat.
Local officials and security sources said that a large number of fighters believed to be loyal to a Boko Haram faction backed by the ISIS group had invaded the troops in Gudumbali.
At least eight civilians were reportedly killed, while thousands more reportedly fled to neighboring cities.
Gudumbali, in the region of Guzamala, Borno State, is the first major seizure of Boko Haram in two years and follows a series of recent attacks against troops.
Authorities and the army have encouraged people displaced by violence in the long-running conflict to return to Guzamala, insisting that this is safe.
But aid agencies say that basic levels of basic services, including housing, civil infrastructure and security, are still lacking.
President Muhammadu Buhari, a former army general, was elected in 2015 on the promise to defeat Boko Haram and is seeking a second term in the February elections.
The Gudumbali attack will again raise questions about his claims that he "technically defeated" the group and that Borno State was now in a "post-conflict stabilization phase".
– Gun battle –
An official from the Guzamala local government area, whose headquarters is Gudumbali, confirmed that the troops had been expelled from the city and that Boko Haram was "in full control".
A military source in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, said the attack began Friday around 19:50 (1850 GMT) and lasted until early morning on Saturday, "when troops were forced to withdraw ".
Musa Ari, a member of the local civil militia, said: "Up to now, eight civilians, who were race men for the troops, were reportedly killed in the attack".
But "most civilians were spared because the attack was aimed at the military base," he added.
The IS-backed faction – known as the Islamic Province of West Africa (ISWAP) – has vowed to touch only "difficult" military or government targets.
He is supposed to try to get support from local people in the Muslim majority area.
Ari said soldiers and residents had fled Gudumbali to Damasak, some 80 kilometers away, on the border with Niger.
Others fled south towards Gajiram, where nine soldiers were killed in a similar attack in June.
Nigerian army spokesman, Brigadier General Texas Chukwu, said he was "unaware" of the latest attack.
– Increasing strength –
Last month, ISWAP fighters led by Abu Musab al-Barnawi were accused of attacking in the village of Zari, just 50 kilometers from Gudumbali, which killed 48 soldiers.
In July, dozens of soldiers were reportedly killed, wounded or missing during a similar attack on a base in Jilli village, on the other side of the border, in the state of Yobe. .
Yan St-Pierre, head of the Modern Security Consulting Group, said that the Gudumbali attack was "another demonstration of ISWAP's growing capabilities and level of strength."
"In the last few months, they have been able to attack larger and larger targets more and more frequently," the anti-terrorism specialist told AFP.
"This is likely to worsen because ISWAP does not only adapt to changing circumstances, but also benefits from the changing dynamics in the Sahel."
The Nigerian military regularly boasts of successes against Boko Haram and has strongly condemned any reports of significant troop losses.
But there are signs of concern in the ranks, reflecting the situation that prevailed four years ago when Boko Haram spread in the northeast.
Then, under-equipped troops sometimes refused to deploy.
A military counter-insurgency has since chased Boko Haram from captured territory, including Gudumbali, captured in 2014.
But aid agencies providing food, shelter and health care to 1.8 million people displaced by the conflict say much of the hard-to-reach campaign remains under control from Boko Haram.
Last month, hundreds of soldiers demonstrated at the Maiduguri airport for several hours, firing into the air and disrupting flights.
They complained of being tired and needing to leave after years spent on the front lines.
Saint-Pierre said the Nigerian military needed to break the cycle by recognizing that their tactics against the insurgents were not working and attacking them in low morale.
If that is not the case, "he will simply never be able to defeat them," he added.
The Nigerian army regularly deceives the successes against Boko Haram, but signs of concern in the ranks reflect the situation that prevailed four years ago when the group raged in the north-east.
