Again, bomb explosions rock Maiduguri •10 killed in Boko Haram’s attacks

Posted by admin Borno, Headlines, State News Thursday, May 19th, 2011

MAIDUGURI, the Borno State capital, on Thursday, was rocked by three separate bomb explosions,

which left an officer of the Nigeria Police dead, while several others were said to have suffered varying degrees of injury.

In one of the explosions, five security officers were injured near a military checkpoint.

This came barely 12 hours after members of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, launched an attack on Ibrahim Taiwo police station on Baga Road, Maiduguri, on Wednesday night, leading to the death of no fewer than 10 people and injuries to several others.

Although the identities of those killed could not be officially confirmed at the time of filing this report, eyewitnesses said two soldiers were among the dead.

According to the eyewitnesses, residents were preparing to go to bed when Islamic fundamentalists engaged a joint patrol team of soldiers and policemen in a gun duel around Baga market, opposite Ibrahim Taiwo police station.

The Islamic fundamentalists exchanged fire with the joint patrol team before taking on the policemen at the police station.

But the bomb blasts on Thursday occurred in Lagos Street at 6.40 a.m., Pompomari at about noon and London Cinki, at 2.00 p.m.

It was learnt that the joint team was just returning from a patrol, when the bomb exploded near their checkpoint and injured five of them. The patrol vehicle was also destroyed by the bomb.

As the town was recovering from the dawn incident, two other bomb blasts were recorded, resulting in injuries to many people and reportedly killing a policeman.

Assistant commissioner of police in charge of operations, Zakari Adamu, confirmed the blasts to newsmen. According to him, the soldiers were wounded by the bomb planted by the attackers while their patrol vehicle was also destroyed.

At the Accident and Emergency Unit of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Nigerian Tribune saw two of the security officers who sustained injuries while the other three were said to have been discharged.

On the gun battle between joint patrol team and Boko Haram gunmen in Baga market, on Wednesday night, the state Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, confirmed it but was silent on the casualties

-Tribunewp_posts