KANO(AFP) – Explosions and gunfire rocked the volatile northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Friday as scores of suspected Boko Haram Islamists attacked a military barracks, residents said.

The gunmen stormed the Fauri area of Maiduguri, a hotbed of the Boko Haram insurgency, after crossing a river on the fringes of the city. They opened fire on the Giwa military barracks, sparking a fierce exchange of fire with the soldiers inside, they said.

There were no immediate reports on casualties.