Kano (AFP) – Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base and two surrounding villages near the flashpoint Nigerian city of Maiduguri overnight, killing at least 18 people and wounding 84, officials said yesterday.

Boko Haram fighters attacked the base in the Cashew Plantation area on the outskirts of the city with suicide bombers, mortars and guns, leading to a prolonged battle, a senior military officer in Maiduguri said.

“Eighteen Boko Haram terrorists on foot attacked the military base while seven suicide bombers targeted residents of nearby Bale Shuwar and Alikaranti villages at 8:50 pm (1950 GMT),” said the officer.

“The terrorists fired mortars at troops.”

“So far we have recovered 18 dead bodies from the two villages,” Benlo Dambatto, an official from the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said.

It was not immediately clear if the casualties involved only civilians or included the jihadists and soldiers as well.

• Tags: Boko Haram, Cashew Plantation, fighters, Maiduguri, Nigeria, villages