About 30 suspected members of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram have died in a gun battle with troops in north-east Nigeria, the military said. Army spokesman Lt Eli Lazarus said the battle in Damaturu lasted several hours and 10 arrests were also made. He said the militants killed included a senior commander known as one-eyed Bakaka. Lazarus described Bakaka as a close associate of the sect’s leader Abubakar Shekau. Boko Haram is fighting to overthrow the government and impose Sharia law across Nigeria.