Lagos, March 14 (IANS): Nigerian troops killed a number of Boko Haram members who had attacked a military location in the country's northeastern city of Maiduguri to free their detained fighters, an official said Friday.

Spokesperson of the Nigerian military headquarters Chris Olukolade said in a statement that troops in the northeastern region of Nigeria foiled the attack with heavy casualty on the insurgents, Xinhua reported.

The attack is suspected to be perpetrated by the sect which suffered a massive loss of its members following a number of military raids in the last few days, the defence spokesperson added.

Many of the insurgents and their weapons have been captured, said Olukolade, noting that some of the victims of the terrorists' attack in their efforts to break into the detention facility included those they came to rescue.

According to him, the insurgents' attempt is in response to the intensity of attacks on their strongholds at Talala, Monguzum, Sambisa forests, Gwoza, and Mandara mountains as well as the general area of Lake Chad.

He said security forces have destroyed several camps operated by the insurgents.

"Four soldiers were wounded and are being treated. Hot pursuits by land and air operations are ongoing along with cordon and search of surrounding localities," he said.

"No institution has been reported attacked, although the effect of firing from the encounter could be noticed in surrounding facilities in Maiduguri," the spokesperson added.

Sounds of gunshots and at least three explosions rent the air Friday morning as residents prepared to go about their daily business, according to witnesses.

The Boko Haram, which has proved to be a major security threat in Nigeria since 2009, has killed hundreds of people in the last three months in a spate of village attacks across three states in northeastern Nigeria.