Nigeria's army said Saturday it had launched an operation in the northern city of Maiduguri, the bastion of Islamist group Boko Haram, that led to the deaths of 20 suspected militants and two soldiers.
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The soldiers Friday stormed a location where some Boko Haram men were found and "we exchanged fire with them and about 20 of them died in the crossfire. We also lost two of our soldiers while three were injured," said army spokesman 00:11:51 Colonel Sagir Musa.
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"We have also arrested 25 Boko Haram terrorists," he added.
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The operation took place several hours after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan left Maiduguri, on his first visit to the restive city since his election in 2011.
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Maiduguri has been the epicentre of an Islamist insurgency that has left hundreds of people dead and Jonathan on Friday defended the deployment of soldiers to the region.