Nigerian officials say security troops have killed 20 suspected Boko Haram Islamists in the restive north.

Officials say one soldier died and two others were wounded in the shootout Sunday in the city of Maiduguri, in Borno state.

The military and the police acted on a tip that members of Boko Haram were meeting at a specific location in the north-eastern city.

A spokesman for the government forces, Victor Ebhaleme, said the militants opened fire when the security troops approached their hideout.

Boko Haram is blamed for attacks on Christian churches mostly in northern Nigeria. More than 600 people have been killed this year in violence. The radical Islamist group seeks to implement strict Islamic law across the country of 160 million people.

Nigeria is split between a mostly Muslim north, and a mainly Christian south.