Heavily armed Boko Haram militants attacked the northeastern Nigerian city of Gombe yesterday but were later repelled, a government security source said.

Earlier, explosions and gunfire could be heard after the fighters overwhelmed a checkpoint at the edge of the city, which has been bombed before but has never had the insurgents attempt to take it over.

Witness Abdul Hassan said soldiers had run away after the checkpoint was overwhelmed. The militants then burned down a police station, he said.

“I crossed a river and ran into the hills,” he said. “I’m still there and I can hear the fighting.”

Others were staying indoors. Witness Hussaina Maji said she was unable to leave her house for fear of being caught in crossfire.

Boko Haram’s struggle for an Islamic state has become the gravest security threat to Africa’s biggest economy and top oil producer, killing thousands and kidnapping hundreds.