Boko Haram Suicide Bomber Attacks JTF Headquaters And Theological College in Maiduguri

Suspected members of the extremist Muslim sect, Boko Haram Friday carried out a suicide bomb attack on the headquarters of the military Joint Task Force in Maiduguri,  Borno State.

Prior to the attack on the high-profile military installation, three other separate assaults by Boko Haram took place in Maiduguri, same day including one on a theological college. Friday’s attack on the JTF, the military unit charged with protecting the city from Boko Haram fighters is viewed as the most bold and co-ordinated ever carried out in Maiduguri by the extremist Muslim sect, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege."

Eyewitness said the suicide bombers, driving a black SUV attempted to enter the JTF base at about noon but could not go beyond the security gate due to resistance by JTF personnel. As a result, sources said the explosives carried in the vehicle by the bombers were detonated outside of the base, which damaged several buildings in the JTF compound.

JTF spokesman Lt. Col. Hassan Ifijeh Mohammed who confirmed the attack said only a few soldiers suffered "minor injuries" from the attack. Mohammed said other blasts occurred at three other places in Maiduguri besides the base, with no one being killed. Borno State police Commissioner Simeon Midenda said one blast detonated around noon outside the El-Kanemi Theological College where parents had gathered.

Midenda said other people had entered the college grounds to attend Friday prayers at a mosque located on its campus. Witnesses who spoke to an Associated Press said they saw ambulances carry away at least six wounded people from the campus. Immediately after the attack on El-Kanemi Theological College, soldiers cordon off the neighbourhood and started an aggressive search for weapons.

Earlier this week, the military conducted house-to-house searches of some neighbourhoods to collect weapons and round up suspected members of the sect.

Mohammed's claims that nobody died in the attack on the JTF HQ could not be immediately verified and the police commissioner declined to say how many people had been wounded. There has not been an immediate claim of responsibility for yesterday’s attacks in Maiduguri but blame immediately fell on Boko Haram, which has staged targeted assassinations and bombings around Maiduguri, killing an estimated 240 people this year alone.

Yesterday’s attack is believed to be in response to the on-going house-to-house search for weapons by the JTF in Maiduguri. In August, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing at the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, which killed 24 people and left another 116 wounded. The bombings came ahead of Eid al-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice, when Muslims around the world slaughter sheep and cattle in remembrance of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son.
 

Police had earlier warned of violence ahead of the celebration.