Red Cross: 8 Killed in North Nigeria Blast
A suicide bomber blew up his car just outside the police headquarters in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, killing eight people, a Nigerian Red Cross report said Friday amid warnings that the situation in the city is worsening.
The report said 19 more people were injured in the blast that occurred at about 11 a.m. Friday outside the police headquarters in Maiduguri. It said casualties had been taken to two hospitals.One hospital official said six bodies were brought to the hospital where he works and that 16 people were hospitalized with injuries from the attack. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to press.
The blast occurred Friday around noon in front of the headquarters’ gate after officers prevented the bomber from entering the compound, said Borno State police chief Bala Hassan. Hassan said that only one policeman and two civilians were killed and six civilians were injured. However, officials have downplayed casualty figures in the past.
Hours earlier, a suspected bomber died when an explosive went off prematurely in another part of the city, said military spokesman Col. Victor Ebhaleme.
A radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has carried out similar attacks in Maiduguri where residents live in constant fear of the next blast or drive-shooting.