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Suspected bombers killed in attempted attack in Nigeria

Xinhua, December 26, 2011

• Three suspected suicide bombers died Sunday in northeast Nigeria's Yobe State when the explosives they attempted to use exploded prematurely, spokesperson with the country's emergency agency said.

  Regional National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesperson Ibrahim Farinloye confirmed to Xinhua that three men suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect died when trying to attack a top military officer in the restive city of Damaturu, the state capital.

  The suspected bombers driving a car sped up at the gate of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Headquarters in the state capital when the device exploded.

  The bombers were believed to be members of militant sect Boko Haram.

  Two other explosions were reported in central Nigerian city of Jos and the Nigerian capital city of Abuja on Sunday.

  Last Friday, the military said more than 61 people were killed in the past days in a clash between the Nigerian army and the militant sect Boko Haram in the West African country's northeastern region.

  The Nigerian army told reporters in the capital Abuja that it had destroyed a major stronghold of the Boko Haram sect in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, killing about 50 of its members after a fierce battle.

  Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, the chief of army staff, said the army had earlier been informed that the sect planned to cause mayhem during this period.

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