The army said troops engaged the terrorists in a hot pursuit, leading to an intense gun battle, which resulted in the elimination of five of them.

The Nigerian Army says its troops deployed for counter-terrorism operations in Ebonyi on Thursday repelled an attack by suspected IPOB terrorists on Isheke Police Station, killing five terrorists.

This was contained in a statement by the Director, Army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, a major general, on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Nwachukwu said the attack on the police station resulted in the torching of the facility and several vehicles.

He said the troops, on arrival at the scene, launched a counter-attack on the terrorists, overpowering and compelling them to flee in disarray.

According to him, troops engaged the terrorists in a hot pursuit, leading to an intense gun battle, which resulted in the elimination of the five suspected terrorists and the seizure of several weapons.

"The troops recovered one PKT Machine Gun with a link belt containing 94 rounds of ammunition, two AK-47 rifles with three magazines containing 11 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one Sub Machine Gun with a magazine.

"Troops also recovered a Sienna SUV with registration number Ebonyi CHR-364JC.

"The Nigerian Army will continue to operate in synergy with sister services and other security agencies to combat the terrorists' activities by IPOB and its armed affiliate, the ESN.

"We urge all law-abiding citizens to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement or activity to the security agencies," he said.