Car Bomber Kills 6 At Police Headquarters In Northeastern Nigeria

Car bomber kills 6 at police headquarters in northeastern Nigeria < br />

2012-06-09 23:25:25 GMT+7 (ICT)

MAIDIGURI, NIGERIA (BNO NEWS) -- A suicide bomber attacked a police headquarters in northeastern Nigeria on Friday morning, killing at least six people and injuring two dozen more, officials said on Saturday. The radical Islamic sect 'Boko Haram' is believed to be responsible.

The attack happened when an assailant driving an explosives-laden vehicle attempted to enter the main gate of the police headquarters in Maidiguri, the state capital of Borno. Officers guarding the gate noticed the suspect vehicle and opened fire, but the bomber was still able to detonate his explosives.

Police said the suicide bomber, four civilians and two police officers died in the powerful explosion. It was not known if the police officers who died were those who tried to stop the suicide bomber from entering the compound. The blast also injured 24 people who were taken to an area hospital, where some of the victims remained in a serious condition on Saturday morning.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but police believe the attacker was a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group, which has been blamed for most of the region's terrorist attacks. The group is seeking 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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