Militants from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) stormed the base just before dawn in the Borno state town of Rann, near the border with Cameroon, a military officer told AFP.

"Four soldiers were killed and five others injured in the attack by ISWAP terrorists on the military base," the officer said.

The officer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak on the raid, said the attackers seized weapons and military vehicles and took "several" soldiers hostage.

Ari Kime, a Rann resident, put the toll at five soldiers killed and six wounded.

The jihadists "snatched three gun trucks before leaving the base," Kime said.

ISWAP and the rival Boko Haram have intensified attacks on military bases in recent weeks.

Rann is the tenth base to be attacked by jihadists in the last two months, according to an AFP tally.

On Monday ISWAP militants raided a base in Marte, killing four troops and taking many others hostage before stealing weapons, according to military sources.

Since 2019, soldiers fighting the jihadists have shut down some smaller army bases and moved into larger garrisons in an attempt to better resist militant attacks.

However the attacks have intensified.

Raids on military bases provide jihadists in the Sahel countries with at least 20 percent of their weapons, according to the UK-based Conflict Armament Research (CAR) which has studied jihadist weapons sources for a decade.