At least 105 soldiers from the battalion and two senior officers were feared "missing" following the attack on Wednesday, security sources said.
No casualties have so far been confirmed by local authorities.
Army spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman confirmed the incident to Premium Times, a local online newspaper, but did not give details.
Rather, he said military authorities in Borno state would address the media on the development later on Thursday.
During the attack, the militants captured a T-72 tank and some artillery weapons from the troops, another source said.
The battalion is attached to the Multi-National Joint Task Force fighting Boko Harm in Baga town of Borno state.
Nigerian army, supported by troops from Chad, Niger and Cameroon, has been engaging Boko Haram in the northeast.
It has reclaimed most of the territory held by Boko Haram. However suicide bombings by the militants persist, with the latest killing at least 50 people at a phone market in the northwestern state of Kano on Wednesday.
Boko Haram has since 2009 waged a campaign of violence in Nigeria in an effort to establish an Islamic state.
It has killed some 13,000 people and kidnapped hundreds, with neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon affected.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has given a December deadline for the army to end the Boko Haram insurgency.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on TikTok
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on X
