LAGOS, NIGERIA —
Nigeria's army is claiming victory in "a fierce battle'' in a remote northeastern town where Islamic extremists say they killed 40 troops from a multinational force.
Army spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman says troops recaptured the town of Malam Fatori and killed several extremists, but the insurgents regrouped at the nearby border with Niger.
The Islamic State's West Africa Province, one faction of Boko Haram, on Tuesday claimed it had annihilated "a convoy of the African Coalition Crusader forces.''
There was no way to independently verify either side's claims.