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Nigerian troops have been deployed to a town in the country's north where Boko Haram Islamist militants slaughtered more than 80 people.
The latest violence comes as the military battles insurgents in the capital, Abuja, casting doubt on claims that the group's rebellion has been contained.
Boko Haram fighters opened fire on security agents in the capital who, acting on a tip-off from arrested insurgents, were searching for a weapons cache purportedly hidden in an unfinished building.
They began "digging for arms", according to a spokeswoman for Nigeria's main intelligence branch, and then "came under heavy gunfire attack by ... Boko Haram elements within the area."
Several people were injured in the shootout and 12 were later arrested, according to the spokeswoman.
The gun battle in the heart of the capital was seen as a significant turn in Boko Haram's four-year insurgency, which the group has said is aimed at creating a strict Islamic state in the north.
The military launched a major offensive against Boko Haram four months ago in the north-east, the Islamists' stronghold, and has described the extremists as being in disarray.
Since the offensive began, most of Boko Haram's attacks have been concentrated in remote parts of the north-east, typically targeting vulnerable civilians.
The bloodshed in Abuja was the first recorded assault in the centre of the country in many months.
Past attacks in the capital have included the August 2011 bombing of a UN building that killed 25 people, as well as bombings at newspaper offices and a shopping centre.
This week also saw the deadliest attack since the military offensive was launched.
Bloodshed in Nigeria's tense north
In the remote north-eastern town of Benisheik in Borno state, heavily armed Islamists disguised in military uniforms burnt scores of homes and buildings and killed dozens.
They stormed the area in some 20 trucks and were equipped with "anti-aircraft guns" according to a security source who requested anonymity. They then shot dead those who tried to flee.
Witnesses and army spokesman Ibrahim Attahiru said the security forces were overwhelmed by the Boko Haram assault, and some reported that military personnel abandoned the town amid the killing.
Survivors described a roadside littered with corpses.
Saidu Yakubu of Borno's Environmental Protection Agency told journalists who visited the town that at least 87 bodies had been discovered after the massacre, but that toll could rise.
During its offensive, the military has claimed the killing of top Boko Haram commanders including the group's leader Abubakar Shekau, declared a global terrorist by the United States which put a $US7 million bounty on his head.
But Shekau's death has not been independently verified and the military's repeated claim that Boko Haram is on the defensive is being viewed with increased scepticism.
ABC/AFP
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, nigeria
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