Police: Radical Sect Kills 6 In Northeast Nigeria

Published January 8, 2012 6:45PM (EST)

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Police say suspected members of a radical Islamist sect have killed six people in two attacks in northeast Nigeria.

Police said gunmen attacked a military vehicle Sunday afternoon in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Hassan Ifijeh Mohammed says the attack killed three civilians and wounded six civilians and one soldier.

Local police commissioner Simeon Midenda said another attack on a tea shop Saturday night in Biu in Borno state killed three people.

At least 52 people have been killed in recent days by Boko Haram, which is carrying out an increasingly bloody sectarian assault against Nigeria's weak central government. The group says it has started specifically targeting Christians, exploiting religious tension in the nation.


By Salon Staff

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