Seven killed by suspected radical Islamic sect in Nigeria
PAUL OHIA ABUJA: Suspected members of a radical Islamic sect set on fire a police vehicle and killed seven persons including three police officers in the trouble-hit Maiduguri town in northern Nigeria.
The attack that is suspected to have been carried out by radical outfit Boko Haram, is the latest in a series of such assaults in the town.
Seven persons, including three police officers, were killed and eight others wounded when the militants attacked a police checkpoint and set a police vehicle on fire.
The group had claimed responsibility for the Christmas day bombings that killed 80 people in the central city of Jos. The day had also seen attacks on churches in Maiduguri that had led to the death of six persons.
On Tuesday, in a similar attack in the same town suspected Boko Haram members fired shots into a teaching hospital, killing a police officer and two.
The sect had said that the Christmas day attacks were carried out "to start avenging atrocities committed against Muslims in those areas and the country in general".
It had vowed to continue the attacks on "disbelievers and their allies who are fighting Muslims".
The country's military said Monday they arrested three persons who were attempting to plant more bombs.
The bombing led to tightening of security in Abuja, the capital city where bombs had killed several persons on October 1.
A militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ( MEND) had claimed responsibility for the Abuja bombings.
Catholic pontiff, Pope Benedict VI and United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon have condemned the bombings and killings.
The Secretary-general expressed UN's support for the Nigerian government's efforts to bring those behind the deadly incidents to justice.
The state Police Commissioner Abdulrahman Akano blamed the bombing and clashes on the political elite and maintained that they were not religious or ethnic in nature.
Nigeria is bracing up to hold a general election next year and its is suspected some desperate politicians may explore the possibility of creating tension between the 150 million people equally divided amongst Muslims and Christians to achieve some self-seeking political intentions.
The attack that is suspected to have been carried out by radical outfit Boko Haram, is the latest in a series of such assaults in the town.
Seven persons, including three police officers, were killed and eight others wounded when the militants attacked a police checkpoint and set a police vehicle on fire.
The group had claimed responsibility for the Christmas day bombings that killed 80 people in the central city of Jos. The day had also seen attacks on churches in Maiduguri that had led to the death of six persons.
On Tuesday, in a similar attack in the same town suspected Boko Haram members fired shots into a teaching hospital, killing a police officer and two.
The sect had said that the Christmas day attacks were carried out "to start avenging atrocities committed against Muslims in those areas and the country in general".
It had vowed to continue the attacks on "disbelievers and their allies who are fighting Muslims".
The country's military said Monday they arrested three persons who were attempting to plant more bombs.
The bombing led to tightening of security in Abuja, the capital city where bombs had killed several persons on October 1.
A militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ( MEND) had claimed responsibility for the Abuja bombings.
Catholic pontiff, Pope Benedict VI and United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon have condemned the bombings and killings.
The Secretary-general expressed UN's support for the Nigerian government's efforts to bring those behind the deadly incidents to justice.
The state Police Commissioner Abdulrahman Akano blamed the bombing and clashes on the political elite and maintained that they were not religious or ethnic in nature.
Nigeria is bracing up to hold a general election next year and its is suspected some desperate politicians may explore the possibility of creating tension between the 150 million people equally divided amongst Muslims and Christians to achieve some self-seeking political intentions.
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