Bomb blast kills eight in Boko Haram’s birthplace

ABUJA, Nigeria—An explosive-laden car hit a taxi filled with passengers today in Borno state’s capital, Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, killing eight people, emergency officials confirmed.

The blast occurred as a taxi with five people approached a gas station. A police statement said the taxi, which was heading for a town near the Cameroon border, was part of a convoy organized by the military to reduce the risk of an attack by Boko Haram.

The National Emergency Management Agency said besides those killed, the blast left 15 others injured. Emergency officials evacuated the wounded to hospitals within the state, the agency said.

Usman Kachalla, a local trader at the scene, said he saw several bodies covered with blood sprawled on the ground.

“I don’t know if it is a suicide bomber, but we just heard the blast, and I saw myself covered in dust,” Kachalla told Nigeria’s Premium Times.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Boko Haram’s seven-year insurgency has plagued northeastern Nigeria and killed more than 20,000 people. Security forces in Maiduguri have warded off similar bombings in recent months by shooting some suicide attackers before they reached their targets.

Maiduguri, once the site of frequent attacks, has been quiet in recent months. Two weeks ago, Borno’s education commissioner, Inuwa Kubo, said schools across the state could reopen due to a reduction in violence. Boko Haram perviously targeted schools, and those not heavily damaged had served as refuges for displaced persons who fled to Maiduguri from other parts of the region.