Boko Haram Attacks Nigeria's Maiduguri Prompting Fierce Clashes With Army

Hundreds of Boko Haram extremists tried to attack the biggest army base in northeast Nigeria overnight but met fierce resistance from soldiers who fired artillery throughout the night.

Booming cannon and whooshing rockets woke up people living around Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, the northeast's biggest city. The ground shook as people prostrated themselves for evening prayers. Hundreds fled, though some were returning home on Thursday morning.

Many villagers were killed by shells that hit the outlying village of Kayamla, where the soldiers engaged hundreds of militants, according to Muhammad Gava, a hunter who is secretary of the self-defense Vigilante Group of Nigeria.

The military on Thursday imposed a 24-hour curfew in Maiduguri, Borno State following a deadly attack by Boko Haram.