Five Killed in Islamist Bomb Attacks in Nigeria
At least five people were killed in bomb attacks on a church and two police stations in Maiduguri, Nigeria on Tuesday.
Police spokesman Lawal Abdullahi told Agence France-Presse that there were seven explosions all across the troubled city, situated in Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria.
The seventh bomb went off next to a Catholic church, while the rest were detonated at Gwange and Dandal police stations.
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At least three of the gunmen were killed by police in an ensuing shootout, Abdullahi said.
He said a bomb hurled by attackers into St. Patrick’s church missed the target and landed back out on the street where it went off, killing two passers-by.
Gunfire rang out across the central Dandal area of the city as police fired shots to deter the militants from further attacks.
The attackers have been identified as members of the hardline Islamist sect Boko Haram, which wants a strict implementation of Sharia (Islamic) law in Nigeria.
The sect has repeatedly attacked state and religious institutions across the northeast of the country to realize its objectives.
A Wahabbi cleric who was critical of Boko Haram was shot dead in a drive-by shooting outside his house in Biu, Borno State, on Monday.
The group has claimed responsibility for attacks which killed at least 16 people following President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election as president in May.
