News / Africa

Blasts Hit Capital of Nigeria's Borno State

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Police and emergency officials in northeastern Nigeria are blaming a radical Muslim sect for a series of bomb blasts in Borno State.

At least five people - all of them members of the security forces - were injured when their vehicle was hit Thursday by an apparent remote-controlled bomb.

Police in the state capital of Maiduguri said they suspect the Boko Haram sect was behind that attack and several others across the city.

Boko Haram members have been targeting police and religious leaders in a string of attacks in recent months.  The sect has also been blamed for raids on churches and a prison.

The governor-elect of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, has proposed granting amnesty to sect members if they renounce violence, but a man claiming to be a Boko Haram spokesman told the BBC recently that the group has rejected that offer.

Officials also suspect Boko Haram was responsible for a blast last Friday that killed two civilians in Maiduguri.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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