Boko Haram injures 3 soldiers, 1 civilian

ON OCTOBER 11, 2011 • IN NEWS
By NDAHI MARAMA

MAIDUGURI- A bomb explosion, Monday, occurred in Dala Alamdari Ward in Maiduguri, injuring in the process three members of the Joint Task Force, JTF, and a civilian.
The incident happened at 9:15a.m. in Dala Alamdari, one of the volatile areas where many members of the sect live in the metropolis.
JTF spokesman, Lt-Col. Hassan Ifijeh, told newsmen in Maiduguri that “Some persons planted an IED near a high tension electricity pole in Dala. They detonated the device when our vehicle was passing. The explosion resulted in crisis as the entire area was engulfed by fire.”
He said the explosion also led to damage to some private cars.
Ifijeh said: “The incident happened near a roadside petrol hawker. The vibration and the sound of the explosion ignited the petrol in the jerry cans. Some private cars inside a nearby mechanic shop were also affected by the inferno.”
He said, however, that the injured had been rushed to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) for medical attention adding that “The JTF has also commenced investigations into the blast.”
He said a number of suspects were arrested in connection with the blast but declined to give further details.
Some residents, however, faulted the JTF claim on the destruction of private cars, saying it was men in uniform who set the cars ablaze and not petrol from a hawker.
Mr Simon Templer, a resident, said: “I was about leaving my house to my shop when I heard the explosion. I knew that it was a sign of danger. But before I could do anything I began to hear sound of gun shots everywhere.”
Templer added that the soldiers were shooting sporadically after the blast.
But JTF spokesman insisted that there was no casualty as a result of the blast.
“Nobody died. Only three soldiers and one civilian got injured. I was there and I saw things myself.”


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