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Three bomb blasts, gunfire rock northeast
Nigeria (Reuters) Fri Nov 4, 2011 4:12pm
File Picture:Abuja blast
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria
(Reuters) - Three bomb blasts and gunfire shook the Nigerian
city of Maiduguri on Friday, where an Islamist sect is engaged
in a campaign of violence against local authorities, witnesses
and military sources said.
One blast was at the El-Kanemi College of
Islamic Theology around the time of Friday prayers.
A local security source said it was not yet
clear if there were any casualties.
Nigeria's northeast has suffered almost
daily shootings and frequent bombings in the past months,
attacks blamed on militant Islamist sect Boko Haram, whose name
means "Western education is forbidden", usually targeting public
and religious figures.
Security forces this week started
door-to-door searches for weapons in northeast Borno state after
an arms amnesty for Islamist militants expired on October 31. It
was unclear if the bombings were a response to that operation.
Boko Haram says it wants Sharia law more
widely imposed across Nigeria. It draws much of its support from
unemployed youths in the remote, economically deprived north.
The group claimed responsibility for a
deadly bombing on the United Nations' headquarters in the
capital Abuja in August.
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