Boko Haram insurgents have killed three soldiers after raiding military post near the country home of  the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, in Borno state, AFP reports.

The terrorist group however said it killed five soldiers .

A military source told AFP that insurgents from the Al-Barnawi faction of Boko Haram launched a midnight attack Thursday on Nigerian troops in the village of Kamuya.

“The terrorists who rode on camels attacked our checkpoint at Kamuya, killing three soldiers after a gun battle,” the source said.

“The troops retreated to Buratai where they teamed up with another detachment and went after the terrorists in the bush.”

In a tweet from the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency, Boko Haram claimed it killed five soldiers from the regional coalition fighting the jihadists.

“Killing of five African coalition soldiers and 11 injured after attack by Islamic Caliphate forces… in Kamuya town,” the tweet read in part.

A civilian resident in the nearby Miringa village said the Kamuya assault was carried out by fighters from the Al-Barnawi faction who are known to be hiding in the area’s Ajigin forest.

“They are responsible for most of the attacks in the area including the one in Kamuya,” he said.

He added that the residents have repeatedly told the soldiers that “Ajigin is the hideout of Boko Haram in the area and as long as they are not dislodged there will no end to their attacks.”

Azeez