Military spokesperson Capt. Mohammed Goni said Nigerian troops killed 48 fighters while repelling overnight attacks on positions in Borno and Yobe states, with one soldier killed.
The overnight attacks hit Bitta, a military position in Borno, and a training school at Buni Yadi in Yobe, according to Goni. He identified the attackers as Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Air support helped secure the Borno site, while troops counterattacked at the Yobe school; fighting continued into Friday morning.
Goni said two other soldiers had minor wounds and were receiving treatment.
Reuters reported a recent increase in attacks on military facilities in northeastern Nigeria. The agency described the insurgency as a 17-year conflict.
Goni previously said seven airstrikes from Oct. 10 to 18 killed 103 suspected ISWAP fighters in Borno and Adamawa states, as detailed in his earlier airstrike account.
