Kano , Nigeria ( CNN ) Hundreds of Boko Haram gunmen on Sunday launched a predawn attack on the Nigerian city of Maiduguri and were locked in a fierce battle with government troops on the outskirts of the city , according to the military , residents and citizen vigilantes . The militants launched a simultaneous attack on the town of Monguno and were apparently successful in taking control of the town and its military barracks , a Nigerian military officer in Maiduguri told CNN . `` Our soldiers initially repelled the terrorists but they mobilized more fighters and came back in full force . They overwhelmed our troops and forced them to retreat , '' said the officer , who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media . Monguno , a town of about 100,000 people in northeast Nigeria , is about a 135-kilometer ( 85-mile ) drive from Maiduguri , a city of more than 600,000 . Both cities are tucked into the corner of the country , near the borders with Chad and Cameroon . Babagana Musa , a Monguno resident who fled to Maiduguri , said , `` Several trucks carrying soldiers drove into Maiduguri . We learned the town ( Monguno ) has been taken over by Boko Haram . '' Monguno , with its huge military barracks , has a strategic importance ‎in that it acts as a buffer to keep Boko Haram from advancing towards Maiduguri . Its fall means Boko Haram is in good position to advance on Maiduguri , which has been its goal for months . Boko Haram had been confined to the fishing town of Baga since its fighters seized it January 3 , hesitant to move south towards Maiduguri because of the military presence in Monguno . The Islamists attacked the nearby village of Jintilo around 5 a.m. and were engaged in a gunbattle with troops stationed there . The village is about 5 kilometers ( 3 miles ) from the center of Maiduguri , the capital of Borno state . Speaking to reporters Sunday afternoon , Borno Governor Kashim Shettima said , `` So long as we have the resources , we will continue to regard the efforts to reclaim peace our No . 1 area of commitments . I want to reassure the good people of Borno State that we will never abdicate from our responsibility as those they entrusted with leadership . '' He further said he had canceled all engagements outside of Borno and intends to `` remain behind with our people through thick and thin , '' and after meeting with other past and present leaders in Northern Nigeria , `` pressures are being combined and channeled to the right authorities to ensure that the insurgency problems are brought to an end as quickly as possible . '' Shettima closed by asking the people of Borno to remain `` optimistic and vigilant '' and urged residents to keep close watch over their children and report any `` strange person and movement '' to authorities . The Islamists attacked the nearby village of Jintilo around 5 a.m. and were engaged in a gunbattle with troops stationed there . The village is about 5 kilometers ( 3 miles ) from the center of Maiduguri , the capital of Borno state . The fighting in Jintilo forced residents to evacuate their homes and flee into the city , while military authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew to prevent infiltration by the militants . `` All the residents of neighborhoods near Jintilo have fled into the city due to the ongoing battle between troops and Boko Haram gunmen who want to enter the city , '' said Modu Zannari , who lives nearby . `` Boko Haram gunmen in their hundreds attacked Jintilo around 5 a.m. , just before the morning prayers , but soldiers stationed there fought back , '' Zannari said . `` Since 5 a.m. all we hear are cracking of guns and booming explosions coming from the direction of Jintilo , '' said Babakaka Said , a resident of another neighborhood near the scene of the fighting . `` There have been radio announcements of indefinite curfew in the city and we have all been asked to remain indoors , '' said Adam Kolo‎ , who lives in the heart of the city . Hundreds of troop reinforcements deployed in Jintilo and military jets carried out aerial bombardment of Boko Haram positions , said a member of a civilian vigilante group fighting Boko Haram alongside troops . `` The ‎gunmen have been dealt with and are now on the run , but they are being pursued by soldiers and vigilantes with the aerial support of a military jet , '' said the vigilante , who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the incident . The attack came a day after President Goodluck Jonathan made a campaign stop in Maiduguri ahead of the February 14 presidential election . He has promised to end the Boko Haram insurgency if re-elected . On Friday , Boko Haram attacked Kambari village , 5 kilometers from Maiduguri , killing 15 people and burning homes , in what was seen as a prelude to a possible onslaught on the city . Also Friday , Boko Haram released 192 hostages , mostly women , who had been kidnapped from a village in Yobe state following a deadly raid , according to community leaders , a local politician and a military source . The hostages had been held in two Boko Haram enclaves since a January 6 raid on the village of Katarko , 20 kilometers from the state capital , Damaturu , in which 218 women and children were abducted , according to sources . `` Boko Haram have returned to us our 192 women they took away at the beginning of this month‎ . They freed them on Friday and dropped them at Girbuwa ( village ) near Damaturu , '' Diptcha Aisami , a community leader in Katarko , said . The hostages were released after they declined to fight alongside Boko Haram , which branded them infidels , said a local politician from Katarko . `` They ( Boko Haram ) are still holding 26 young boys they abducted along with the released hostages in Katarko , '' said the politician , who asked not to be named for security reasons . A military officer confirmed the release of the hostages by Boko Haram.‎ . On January 6 , dozens of Boko Haram gunmen stormed Katarko , where they killed 25 men and threw the bodies in open wells , burned the entire village and kidnapped the women and children , according to Aisami and local vigilantes . The attack was apparently in reprisal for a raid on a Boko Haram enclave by local hunters and vigilantes in Buni Yadi , 20 kilometers away , hours earlier . Several Boko Haram fighters were killed in that raid ; scores of others were arrested and an arsenal was seized , according to vigilantes . CNN 's Nana Karikari-apau contributed to this report .
Boko Haram takes control of Monguno and its huge military barracks , military says . Comment: On Friday , Boko Haram released 192 hostages taken in January 6 raid ; 26 boys still being held .