Abuja: Indian nationals were among those injured in a series of coordinated bomb and gun attacks claimed by an Islamist sect that killed at least seven people in northern Nigeria’s largest city of Kano, where authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew.
Militants, including suicide bombers, targeted four police stations, the headquarters of the country’s secret police, State Security Service (SSS) in Kano state and an immigration office last night, authorities said.
The bombings were followed by shoot-outs between the militants and security agencies, especially at the eastern Bompai district of Kano, the largest city in Nigeria’s Muslim north and second-largest in the country.
Police spokesman Olusola Amore said that seven persons were killed during the attacks but could not disclose their identities.
A suicide bomber was also killed in the attacks, witnesses said.
A local journalist and three police officers were among those killed, while the number of people injured in the blasts was unclear so far.
A doctor at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital said some of the injured brought to the medical facility were foreigners, including Indians who live close to the SSS headquarters.
Meanwhile, The Islamist sect Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for coordinated bomb attacks on security forces in the north Nigerian city of Kano that killed seven people on Friday night.
The attacks prompted the government to announce a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the city of more than 10 million people.
Kano, like other cities in the north, has been plagued by an insurgency led by Boko Haram, which is blamed for scores of bombings and shootings, aimed mainly at government targets, that are growing in scale and sophistication.
A spokesman for Boko Haram contacted reporters in the northeast city of Maiduguri, where the sect is based, to claim responsibility for the attacks. A letter was also dropped around Kano, which appeared to be from the group.
The letter, written in the Hausa language spoken in northern Nigeria, said the attacks were retribution for police arrests and killings of members of the sect.
“At the moment, seven casualties have been confirmed from different locations of the attacks,” police media officer Olusola Amore said in a statement.
The statement said the police “are doing their best to bring the situation under control … (we are) appealing to members of the public to come forward with information on the identity and location of these hoodlums.”
The police said eight buildings were attacked, including police headquarters, three police stations, the headquarters of the secret services and the immigration head office. (PTI)