Bomb blast in northeastern Nigeria kills five

[News_Editor]

Bomb blast in northeastern Nigeria kills five

2011-07-04 04:44:18 GMT+7 (ICT)

MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least five people were killed on late Sunday afternoon when a bomb exploded at a drinking joint in northeastern Nigeria, local media reported.

The blast happened at around 5.30 p.m. local time at the popular Wulari Mammy Market in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. The market houses more than 100 temporary shops, including the drinking joint where the blast happened.

According to the Punch newspaper, Maj. Gen. Jack Nwaogbo confirmed that at least five people were killed while 10 others were injured. Some reports put the death toll as high as 10, but those figures were not immediately confirmed.

"We have seen the security people evacuating victims some dead some wounded," a local resident identified only as Abdullahi told the Xinhua news agency. "We have also seen the soldiers open fire on a car that refused to stop when he was asked to stop. But I really don't have the full picture of happenings there because the soldiers have cordoned the whole area."

According to Xinhua, the blast happened shortly after an unidentified man left a wine shop where he reportedly bought a bottle of soft drink. It was not immediately clear if he left an explosive device.

Officials have blamed the attack on the militarist Islamic group Boko Haram, which has constantly sought the imposition of an extremist stance of the Shariah law, which is a Muslim code of conduct. The group's name, 'Boko Haram,' in the local language of Hausa, roughly translates as 'Western religion is sacrilegious' or 'non-Islamic religion is a sin.'

Last Sunday, also in Maiduguri, at least 25 people were killed and others were injured when two men riding motorcycles came around the back of popular nightspots, which are known as beer gardens, and threw explosives. That attack was also blamed on the Boko Haram's.

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