Witnesses Say Nigerian Soldiers Kill 30 After Blast

Posted October 8th, 2012 at 6:20 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Witnesses in northern Nigeria are accusing soldiers of firing on civilians in the troubled city of Maiduguri, killing at least 30 people.

Reporters and hospital workers say many of the dead appear to be civilians. They say soldiers also set fire to homes and shops.

Residents say the violence took place Monday after a bomb exploded on an army patrol, wounding two soldiers.

Military officials would not confirm or deny reports that soldiers opened fire on civilians.

Maiduguri is at the center of operations for the Islamist group known as Boko Haram. The group is blamed for killing more than 1,400 people in recent years. Churches and police are frequent targets.

Nigeria's military claimed on Sunday that it killed 30 suspected members of Boko Haram in the nearby city of Damaturu.

The radical sect says it wants a strict form of Islamic law imposed throughout the country.