About 20 soldiers were killed and nearly 1,000 people made homeless in a Boko Haram attack on a town in northeastern Nigeria, two residents and a military source said on Wednesday.
The militants entered Monguno in Borno state posing as a convoy of soldiers on the evening of Jan. 7, the sources told Reuters.
They then attacked troops already inside the town, destroying at least 750 homes in the process.
Resident Gumati Sadu said people fled into the bush for safety during the fighting and that three civilians were killed by stray bullets.
A military spokesman declined comment.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
A decade-long insurgency campaign by the terrorists have killed thousands and displaced millions in northeastern Nigeria.
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which split from Boko Haram in 2016, has since staged its own frequent attacks in the region.
Thousands in Monguno had already been displaced from their homes elsewhere in Borno state by militants.
Aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres warned last year that many thousands in Monguno lacked proper shelter, water, sanitation and food.
