Bomb blast rocks northeastern Nigeria, no casualties

Bomb blast rocks northeastern Nigeria, no casualties

2011-08-03 07:50:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

MAIDIGURI, NIGERIA (BNO NEWS) -- A bomb explosion rocked the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri on early Tuesday morning, officials and local media reports said. There were no reports of casualties.

The explosion happened at around 7.15 a.m. local time at the junction of Gomari Airport Road in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, moments before a military patrol vehicle passed by the area. Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed, a spokesperson of the Joint Task Force (JTF) on Operation Restore Order, told the NEXT news portal that the device was buried under the concrete pavement of the highway.

There were no reports of casualties after the powerful explosion, but authorities believe the extreme Boko Haram group was behind the attack. Mohammed also underlined the Nigeria's military is not involved in the planting of bombs in the city, underlining that has been "false propaganda" by Boko Haram, as they have been "frustrated by the military."

"The military bombs are well known because they are quite distinct from the locally made ones used by the Boko Haram sect," Mohammed stated, adding that the group usually attracts the JTF with explosions and opens fire after the blasts.

Officials have blamed the militarist Islamic group Boko Haram for much of the region's terrorist attacks. The militant group staged an uprising in Maiduguri in 2009, attacking government institutions, which led to clashes with security forces. Hundreds of people were estimated to have been killed during the incidents.

Boko Haram 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.'

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