Multiple Explosions Rock Nigerian, High casualties after Blasts

Local Editor

Three blasts had struck the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri causing "high casualties", the army said.

A spokesman blamed the extremist militant group Boko Haram for the attack. However, unconfirmed reports said as many as eight people might have died from the blasts.

Boko Haram attacks had spiked in recent months after it was driven from territory it held.

The blasts in Maiduguri reflected the "high level of desperation" in Boko Haram, spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement.

Nigeria's main relief agency Monday warned of "high casualties" a day after multiple explosions blamed on extremist militants Boko Haram hit the restive northeastern city of Maiduguri.

"Our team responded promptly by evacuating bodies of victims to the mortuaries and those injured to the hospitals for treatment," said Ibrahim Ajilari, of the National Emergency Management Agency [NEMA].

Though, Ajilari was not able to give an exact death toll but he added: "The casualty is high. One of the explosives was planted in a mosque where people were praying."

Local residents spoke of hearing at least two explosions within a few minutes of each other in the restive city's densely-populated Binta Sugar area.

Two million people had been forced from their homes since the Boko Haram militants launched their insurgency in 2009.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari made combating the group a key campaign pledge as he sought election this year.

Accordingly, Nigeria's army, aided by troops from Chad, Niger and Cameroon, said it pushed Boko Haram out of most of the territory earlier this year.

Suspected members of Boko Haram had killed around 800 people in Africa's most populous nation in a spate of bombings and shootings since President Muhammadu Buhari was inaugurated as president on May 29, according to a Reuters tally.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team