Members of a Nigerian Islamist fundamentalist sect have fled the northern city of Maiduguri after the military overran their base.
The news came hours after the army announced that another 1,000 soldiers had been sent to the region to reinforce troops battling sect members after four days of violence.
Commander of the operation Colonel Ben Ahonotu said: 'We have taken over their enclave, they are on the run and we are going after them.'
A local reporter said he had counted 90 bodies in the base.
Residents of Customs Bridge suburb neighbouring the group's Bayan Quarters enclave said they had seen a convoy of the militants fleeing their area.
'Some members of the Talibans passed through our neighbourhood in four cars this evening,' a resident said.
Earlier, the army had boosted its numbers in Maiduguri, where rebels have been fighting security forces since Sunday.
President Umaru Yar'Adua had ordered the armed forces to crush the movement 'once and for all'.
'We really want to get this job done in the shortest possible time, therefore, we have received reinforcements of 1,000 troops,' said an army spokesman.
Yesterday's fighting concentrated on enclaves of Maiduguri believed to house the sect's leader Mohammed Yusuf.
The death toll from the clashes has already gone above 300 and thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes to escape the violence.
