Heavy clashes between suspected fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province and troops of the Nigerian Army were reported on the outskirts of Maiduguri late Sunday night.
According to security analyst Brant Philip, loud explosions were heard in the western part of the city about an hour before his report, raising concerns among residents.
Philip said the blasts were linked to ongoing clashes between suspected ISWAP militants and Nigerian troops operating around the outskirts of the city.
He noted that details of the confrontation remained unclear as the situation was still developing at the time of his post on the social media platform X.
He wrote: “Loud explosions were heard in the western part of Maiduguri around an hour ago, details are still unclear as the situation is ongoing.
“Heavy clashes between suspected ISWAP militants and the Nigerian army in the outskirts of Maiduguri tonight, capital of Borno State in northeast Nigeria.”
News reports that Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, has been a major centre of military operations against insurgent groups operating in Nigeria’s northeast.