Three bomb blasts, gunfire rock northeast Nigeria
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria Nov 4 (Reuters) - Three bomb blasts and
gunfire shook the Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Friday, where an
Islamist sect is engaged in a campaign of violence against local
authorities, witnesses and military sources said.
One blast was at the El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology
around the time of Friday prayers.
A local security source said it was not yet clear if there
were any casualties.
Nigeria's northeast has suffered almost daily shootings and
frequent bombings in the past months, attacks blamed on militant
Islamist sect Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is
forbidden", usually targeting public and religious figures.
Security forces this week started door-to-door searches for
weapons in northeast Borno state after an arms amnesty for
Islamist militants expired on Oct. 31. It was unclear if the
bombings were a response to that operation.
Boko Haram says it wants Sharia law more widely imposed
across Nigeria. It draws much of its support from unemployed
youths in the remote, economically deprived north.
The group claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing on the
United Nations' headquarters in the capital Abuja in August.
source: reuters
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