Suspected Islamist fighters killed at least 20 Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding officer, after attacking an army base in a remote town in northeastern Borno state, security sources and residents said Sunday.

The army says Nigerian soldiers have killed 79 militants and suspected kidnappers over the past week in an operation targeting a decades-long insurgency by Islamic militants in the northeast and attacks by various armed groups in the northwest.

A jihadist suicide attack kills 27 Nigerian soldiers, including the commander, in the Timbuktu Triangle, as ISWAP militants target troops in the northeast.