In Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's Borno state and where the military joint task force has its headquarters, a junior officer said his colleagues who spoke with him from Cameroon described running out of ammunition and facing well-armed Islamic fighters. The officer insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three northeastern states in May 2013, saying the militants had taken over parts of Borno state, Boko Haram's birthplace.
After the emergency was imposed, the military seemed to be gaining control of parts of the northeast, killing militants and sending them fleeing into neighboring states. But Boko Haram's violent attacks have increased. Nigeria's fight against Boko Haram, which wants to impose Islamic rule in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, began in 2009. Last April, the militants kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls, most of whom still remain captive.
Boko Haram said it controls the northeastern city of Gwoza and has added it to an Islamic state that it claims it has established in Nigeria.
Gwoza, in Borno state, is now part of its "Islamic Caliphate" asserted Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a video seen on Sunday.
Nigeria's army said on Twitter: "That claim is empty ... the Nigerian state is still intact."
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