Nigeria: 30 killed in market attack in Borno State

[News_Editor]

Nigeria: 30 killed in market attack in Borno State

2012-02-21 16:59:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least 30 people were killed on Monday afternoon when suspected militants attacked a local fish market in northeastern Nigeria, local media reported on Tuesday.

Suspected members of the Boko Haram militant group stormed the Baga market in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, at around 1:30 p.m. local time on Monday and opened fire before detonating explosives at market stalls. The exact death toll remained unclear on Tuesday.

Joint Military Task Force (JTF) spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed told The Moment news portal that security forces responded to the scene and killed eight members of the sect who were attacking the market. Security forces also found three bombs and carried out controlled explosions.

Witnesses said the Boko Haram stormed the market as they shouted that market traders had betraded the group and helped the JTF, which resulted in the arrest of several of its members. The militants then opened fire indiscriminately and detonated at least eight explosive devices.

Some Nigerian media reports said at least 30 people were killed, including a number of women and children. A nurse at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital said at least 20 bodies were brought to the facility, and several others may have been brought to other locations.

The Boko Haram group has been blamed for most of the region's terrorist attacks and seeks the imposition of an extremist stance of the Shariah law, which is a Muslim code of conduct. The group's name, in the local language of Hausa, roughly translates as 'Western religion is sacrilegious' or 'non-Islamic religion is a sin.'

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