Niger says its army has killed at least 50 Boko Haram extremists after an attack on a military post.

The West African nation says the heavily armed Boko Haram fighters attacked the eastern Toumour post overnight into Sunday.

The government says the army used air and ground forces to fight back, killing at least 50 fighters and destroying a large number of vehicles. One soldier was injured.

Boko Haram is based in neighboring Nigeria. Its decade-long insurgency has focused on attacks inside that country, but the extremists also have staged attacks in Niger and Cameroon.