MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Witnesses say they saw about 50 bodies, after a car bomb explosion today in a market in a northeastern Nigerian city.
The city was the birthplace of the Boko Haram (BOH’-koh hah-RAHM’) Islamic extremist group, which is being blamed in the attack. The extremists have been accused of a series of recent bomb attacks in the West African nation.
Witnesses say the explosives were hidden under a load of charcoal in a pickup van. The explosion reduced stalls, goods and vehicles to piles of trash.
One trader who works near the market says the bomb went off just after the market opened, before most traders or customers had arrived. The trader said security forces cordoned off the area but had a hard time keeping people out, even though they warned there could be additional explosions targeting rescue efforts.
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126-c-20-(Michelle Faul (mee-SHEHL’ FAWL), AP correspondent)-“an ordinary day”-AP correspondent Michelle Faul reports that dozens have probably perished in the blast, which is likely to be blamed on Boko Haram Islamic extremists. (1 Jul 2014)
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125-c-16-(Michelle Faul (mee-SHEHL’ FAWL), AP correspondent)-“of Boko Haram”-AP correspondent Michelle Faul reports that an explosion has hit a market in a city in Nigeria’s northeast, a stronghold of the violent extremists causing fear and terror across the country. (1 Jul 2014)
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APPHOTO LON110: People gather at the scene of a car bomb explosion, at the central market, in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. A car bomb exploded in a market in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri on Tuesday morning, and dozens of people are feared dead, witnesses said. They immediately blamed Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group whose birthplace is Maiduguri and which is accused of a series of recent bomb attacks in the West African nation. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola) (1 Jul 2014)
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