Gun battle erupts near Nigeria's Maiduguri airport

(Reuters) - A fresh gun battle erupted in Nigeria between militants and troops near the airport of the northeastern city of Maiduguri, a security source and nearby resident said Sunday evening.

"I can hear sporadic gun shots and bomb explosions, I am sure the boys are back to retaliate for what was done to them this morning," Bello Muhammad, who lives about 300 meters (yards) from the airport, told Reuters.

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents launched an attack on the outskirts of Maiduguri, including the airport that is used by military and civilian aircraft, on Sunday just after midnight but were repelled by the army in the early afternoon