Nigeria’s military forces reportedly killed two senior members of the radical Islamist Boko Haram sect, officials confirmed. According to reports the two leaders were killed in a gun battle between the sect and Joint Task Force operatives in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital and base of the terrorist sect.

Army spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa said on Thursday that soldiers shot and killed the Boko Haram commanders at a highway checkpoint. They also recovered “bombs, five mobile phones and a car” during the raid.

Musa said the presence of the weapons was proof that they had planned an attack. No further details were given as regards to the identities of the men. The killings come days after Nigerian authorities claimed to have killed Abu Qaqa, spokesman for the sect and one of its most prominent figures.

Boko Haram wants a widespread enforcement of Shariah law and is responsible for some 680 deaths this year alone, the Associated Press reported.