Jos , Nigeria ( CNN ) -- Security forces killed 20 suspected members of the militant Islamic group Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria on Sunday , an army captain said . Troops moved in on a meeting of the group , sparking a shootout , said the captain , who was not authorized to talk to the media . `` The Boko Haram gang , as soon as they saw the military arrive at the spot , they opened fire and the soldiers went into action . All of them were killed because they kept shooting and did not surrender or give up , '' he said . One soldier was also killed in the violence , which took place in the northeastern city of Maiduguri , said the captain . From its base in Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria , Boko Haram has waged a violent campaign of bombings of Christian churches in Nigeria that have killed hundreds and wounded many more . The group is also blamed for an attack on a United Nations building in the Nigerian capital of Abuja last year that killed at least 23 people . The group , whose name means `` Western education is forbidden , '' has referred to itself as the `` Nigerian Taliban . '' It seeks to overthrow the Nigerian government and replace it with a regime based on Islamic law . U.S. officials have expressed concerns that the group is beginning to cooperate with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb , the Northern Africa based affiliate of the group , and another al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia , al Shabaab , to target American interests in Africa . The United States in June designated as terrorists three senior members of Boko Haram . The announcement drew criticism from some on Capitol Hill who felt the State Department should have gone further by designating Boko Haram as a whole a terrorist entity . The terrorist designation blocks all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction of the three individuals named , and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with , or for the benefit of , the three . CNN 's Jamie Crawford and Nana Karikari-apau contributed to this report .
Troops moved in on a meeting of the Haram , sparking a riot , officials say . " It has begun a violent campaign of bombings . The Islamist group 's name means ` ` Western civilization is bad , ''