Nigerian Suicide Bomber Kills Six Troops

Kano - A suicide bomber in a car rammed into a military patrol on Sunday in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Damaturu, killing himself, at least six soldiers and a civilian, authorities said. "He detonated the bomb he was carrying in his car, killing himself. Six soldiers were also killed, nine others were injured and are in hospital," Patrick Egbuniwe, the Yobe state police commissioner, told AFP. "One civilian was killed and another one injured," he added.

A statement purportedly from a spokesperson for radical Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the bomber detonated the explosives when soldiers tried to stop him at a checkpoint.

Egbuniwe said the bomber was being chased by a military patrol vehicle and the driver detonated the bomb and blew himself up when soldiers closed in on him. A security source said the attacker rammed into a multiple vehicle military convoy, affecting two of the vehicles. Damaturu is the capital of Yobe state, which has been hard hit by attacks blamed on Boko Haram. Sunday's attack follows a suicide bomber's attempt to assassinate Yobe state's top traditional Muslim leader, the Emir of Fika, on Friday.
The bomber sought to approach the emir after Friday prayers in the city of Potiskum but was pushed away. He blew himself up and wounded a number of others.

Authorities have been carrying out raids since the attempted attack in a bid to arrest suspected members of Boko Haram, which has claimed to be fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north.

The group is thought to include various factions with differing aims, however, and demands have repeatedly shifted.

August 06, 2012