Boko Haram fighters and security forces were Thursday battling each other in Bajoga town, near the capital of Gombe state in Nigeria's northeast, witnesses told Xinhua, citing heavy gunfire in the area.
Armed with rocket-propelled grenades and other high-powered weapons, the insurgents, who stormed the town in at least 30 Hilux vans, targeted public buildings in the area early Thursday, said a witness named Isiaku Wanzam.
The gunmen were on the rampage for almost two hours before the arrival of security personnel, forcing residents to stay indoors amid explosions and sounds of gunfire, he said.