KANO, Nigeria — Nigeria's military says soldiers have attacked a home believed to harbor Islamic extremists, an assault that killed 14 people.

Capt. Ikedichi Iweha told journalists Sunday that soldiers attacked the home in the northern city of Kano after a car fled a military checkpoint. Iweha said soldiers found weapons and a car loaded with explosives inside the home, which was later demolished.

Iweha said soldiers killed 14 suspected extremists, while offering no details about soldiers being injured in the assault. The Associated Press could not immediately independently verify how many people died in the attack. Nigeria's military often downplays its own casualties and refers to all those killed as terrorists, though human rights groups and lawyers say soldiers routinely kill civilians in their campaign against extremists.