Another terror group on the path to defeat that can muster hundreds of fighters.

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Hundreds of Boko Haram extremists tried to attack the biggest army base in northeast Nigeria overnight but met fierce resistance from soldiers who fired artillery throughout the night.

Booming cannon and whooshing rockets woke up people living around Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, the northeast’s biggest city. The ground shook as people prostrated themselves for evening prayers. Hundreds fled, though some were returning home on Thursday morning.

Many villagers were killed by shells that hit the outlying village of Kayamla, where the soldiers engaged hundreds of militants, according to Muhammad Gava, a hunter who is secretary of the self-defense Vigilante Group of Nigeria.

“Many of them (Boko Haram) were killed outside the trenches while some fled back,” said another civilian fighter, Ibrahim Musa.

“We were with the soldiers during the attack and I was shocked to see that Boko Haram could be in such large numbers,” Musa told The Associated Press.

An army officer said three women blew themselves up as the troops moved into Kayamla, one killing three self-defense fighters and the other two suicide bombers killing only themselves. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not supposed to give information to journalists.