Bomb blast, shootout in north Nigerian city
Source: AFP
KANO, Nigeria — Attackers used explosives and gunfire to target a military patrol near a wedding in violence-torn northeastern Nigeria, with residents reporting two civilians killed in the violence.
The incident on Saturday, Nigeria's independence day, occurred in Maiduguri, hit by scores of attacks blamed on an Islamist sect known as Boko Haram, which also claimed an August bombing of UN headquarters in the capital Abuja.
"There was a bomb and gun attack on one of our patrol teams yesterday," said Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed, spokesman for a military task force deployed to Maiduguri. "Our men responded to the attack but details are still sketchy."
Residents reported that two people were left dead after the bomb blast and an exchange of gunfire between soldiers and residents. It was unclear whether they were killed by the bomb or gunfire.
Those attending a nearby wedding took cover when the violence broke out. Two residents said those killed were not part of the wedding.
Thousands have fled Maiduguri in recent months out of fears of further violence. Dozens of similar bomb blasts have hit the city as well as assassinations blamed on Boko Haram.
While most of its attacks have occurred in Nigeria's northeast, Boko Haram also claimed responsibility for the August 26 bomb blast at UN headquarters in Abuja that killed at least 23 people.
KANO, Nigeria — Attackers used explosives and gunfire to target a military patrol near a wedding in violence-torn northeastern Nigeria, with residents reporting two civilians killed in the violence.
The incident on Saturday, Nigeria's independence day, occurred in Maiduguri, hit by scores of attacks blamed on an Islamist sect known as Boko Haram, which also claimed an August bombing of UN headquarters in the capital Abuja.
"There was a bomb and gun attack on one of our patrol teams yesterday," said Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed, spokesman for a military task force deployed to Maiduguri. "Our men responded to the attack but details are still sketchy."
Residents reported that two people were left dead after the bomb blast and an exchange of gunfire between soldiers and residents. It was unclear whether they were killed by the bomb or gunfire.
Those attending a nearby wedding took cover when the violence broke out. Two residents said those killed were not part of the wedding.
Thousands have fled Maiduguri in recent months out of fears of further violence. Dozens of similar bomb blasts have hit the city as well as assassinations blamed on Boko Haram.
While most of its attacks have occurred in Nigeria's northeast, Boko Haram also claimed responsibility for the August 26 bomb blast at UN headquarters in Abuja that killed at least 23 people.
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