Scores of insurgents were killed when security operatives repelled an attack launched by suspected Boko Haram members Wednesday in Delwa area of northeast Nigeria's Borno State, the military said in a statement Thursday.
Many other attackers fled with various degrees of injury due to the gallantry of the Nigerian troops who got timely information about the attack, the statement said.
According to the statement, troops on patrol around Delwa and neighboring communities successfully broke through insurgents' ambush 35 kilometers to Maiduguri as they advanced to dislodge insurgents who were massing up in the area.
The fierce fire fight that ensued as the troops waded through the ambush left scores of insurgents dead, while three soldiers died in action.
Seven soldiers who incurred various degrees of injuries have been evacuated for treatment while the troops continued with their mission, the military statement added.
The Nigerian forces have been raiding militant camps and launching air and ground attacks on suspected hideouts of the militants over the past three months.
Activities of the Boko Haram sect have recently been on the increase in Borno, which shares a border with Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
The sect seeks to enshrine the Islamic sharia law into the constitution and declares war against the Western education.