MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's army says it has killed two leaders of a radical Islamist sect in the country's northeast.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said Thursday that soldiers shot dead two Boko Haram commanders at a highway checkpoint near the city of Maiduguri Wednesday.

Musa said the men had weapons in their car and that authorities had received intelligence indicating they were planning an attack.

He did not give further detail on their identities.

These killings come days after Nigeria's army said it killed a Boko Haram spokesman and another ranking member.

The sect, which only speaks to journalists at times of its choosing, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Boko Haram is held responsible for more than 680 deaths this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.
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AP