Insurgents attacked the outskirts of northeast Nigeria's main city of Maiduguri on Sunday, triggering a gun battle with soldiers that killed at least eight people, witnesses and a security source said.
Islamist group Boko Haram has long coveted the city as the capital of an Islamic state they want to carve out of religiously-mixed Nigeria.
Gunfire was reported on the streets of the northern city after an attack that began in the early hours of Sunday.
It comes a week after Boko Haram's last attempt to capture the capital of Borno state was repelled by the Nigerian army with heavy loss of life.
Troops from the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army are said to be currently fighting with Boko Haram insurgents who are attempting to invade Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
An eyewitness told daily trust that hundreds of the insurgents, armed with deadly weapons are trying to enter Maiduguri from two directions.
One of the sources said the attempts began around 3am this morning and is continuing. "Some of the terrorist came through Damboa -Dalwa road in southern part of the metropolis...they are making fruitless effort to enter through Molai village but we are engaging them," he said.
Another source said a separate set of the attackers advanced close to Maiduguri through Mafa- Dikwa road in northeastern part of the state capital. “They are not far from Ngon now, a settlement not far from Lake Chad research institute," he said.
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