Abuja, April 26 (IANS) At least 40 insurgents were killed in an overnight raid in Nigeria’s northeast region, military authorities said Friday.

Four soldiers also lost their lives and nine others sustained injuries in gunfights between the rebels and troops, following a raid near Bulanbali, located on the outskirts of northern Borno state, Xinhua quoted Chris Olukolade, spokesperson of the Nigerian military, as saying in a statement.

“More than 16 rifles and a substantial number of assorted calibers of ammunition, improvised explosive devices, subscriber identification module cards and electronic items were recovered,” said the military officer.

According to him, the capture of a number of terrorists, believed to be the ring leaders of rebels operating around Alagarmo town in the state, had sparked off a major fighting near Bulanbuli late Thursday.

A military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said Bulanbali, located between Alagarmo and Sambisa forest where the terrorists had been attempting to establish a stronghold in their campaign, had been cordoned off by troops.

Borno state, an epicentre of Boko Haram attacks, is, together with states of Adamawa and Yobe, under a 12-month emergency rule.

An explosion, which rocked Nigeria’s capital city Abuja and claimed more than 71 lives Monday, was also blamed on the sect that seeks to enshrine the Islamic Sharia law in the constitution of the West African country.