<p>Jihadists aligned with the Islamic State militant group have captured a military base in northeast Nigeria's Borno state after overnight clashes with troops, sources told AFP on Saturday.</p>.<p>Machine-gun wielding fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked the base in the town of Marte in the Lake Chad area overnight Friday into Saturday, two sources said.</p>.<p>"The priority now is to reclaim the base from the terrorists and an operation is under way," one of the sources said.</p>.<p>"We took a hit from ISWAP terrorists. They raided the base in Marte after a fierce battle."</p>.<p>The second source said the army "incurred losses" but it was not yet clear how many people had died or the level of destruction inflicted by the insurgents.</p>.<p>ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016, maintains camps on islands in Lake Chad -- where Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad meet -- and the area is known to be group's bastion.</p>.<p>Last week, the jihadists attacked the Marte base but were repelled, prompting them to mobilise more fighters for the overnight raid, said the sources.</p>.<p>The raid was seen as a "fightback" after recent losses -- troops recently overran ISWAP's second largest camp in Talala village, said the sources.</p>.<p>In November last year, officials began the phased return of residents to Marte six years after they were pushed out by the jihadists.</p>.<p>The town, 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the regional capital Maiduguri, was once considered the breadbasket of the Lake Chad region.</p>.<p>At least 36,000 people have been killed in the jihadist conflict since 2009 and violence has spread into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition.</p>
<p>Jihadists aligned with the Islamic State militant group have captured a military base in northeast Nigeria's Borno state after overnight clashes with troops, sources told AFP on Saturday.</p>.<p>Machine-gun wielding fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked the base in the town of Marte in the Lake Chad area overnight Friday into Saturday, two sources said.</p>.<p>"The priority now is to reclaim the base from the terrorists and an operation is under way," one of the sources said.</p>.<p>"We took a hit from ISWAP terrorists. They raided the base in Marte after a fierce battle."</p>.<p>The second source said the army "incurred losses" but it was not yet clear how many people had died or the level of destruction inflicted by the insurgents.</p>.<p>ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016, maintains camps on islands in Lake Chad -- where Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad meet -- and the area is known to be group's bastion.</p>.<p>Last week, the jihadists attacked the Marte base but were repelled, prompting them to mobilise more fighters for the overnight raid, said the sources.</p>.<p>The raid was seen as a "fightback" after recent losses -- troops recently overran ISWAP's second largest camp in Talala village, said the sources.</p>.<p>In November last year, officials began the phased return of residents to Marte six years after they were pushed out by the jihadists.</p>.<p>The town, 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the regional capital Maiduguri, was once considered the breadbasket of the Lake Chad region.</p>.<p>At least 36,000 people have been killed in the jihadist conflict since 2009 and violence has spread into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition.</p>