Following the renewed battle between the Joint Military Task Force and Boko Haram, thousands of residents fled Maiduguri, Borno State on Tuesday, as the clash escalated.
Operations Officer of JTF, Col. Victor Ebhaleme said, three people were killed and two soldiers injured by a blast, during the clash.
"The blast occurred when a patrol team of the JTF was attacked on Tuesday morning ... (we) blame Boko Haram for planting improvised explosive devices in residential areas," Ebhaleme told Reuters.
More than 150 people have been killed this year in the city of more than 1.2 million people.
The army said 11 members of Boko Haram were killed and two soldiers wounded on Saturday night as the military stepped up efforts to curb the violence.
Thousands boarded trucks to exit the city, witnesses said. "We are going to Kano where my late husband who was killed by soldiers last Saturday comes from," Aishatu Musa, a woman with five children, told Reuters.
Reuters