And still more from the "books, him bad" fellows in Nigeria

Another three people murdered, and the University of Maiduguri closes indefinitely because they can no longer guarantee the students safety, courtesy the religion of peace.


From AP/Yahoo July 12 by Njadvara Musa

3 killed in bomb blast in northeast Nigeria

MAIDUGURI — Suspected members of a radical Muslim sect killed three people in a van blast near a military checkpoint, a Nigerian official said Tuesday, the latest in an escalating series of attacks in the country's restive northeast.

Maj. Gen. Jack Nwachukwu Nwaogbo, the commander of the Joint Military Taskforce, said an explosive went off under the van Monday evening as its driver slowed down at a military and police checkpoint in the city of Maiduguri. The blast killed the driver and two passengers.

Authorities blamed a radical Muslim sect locally known as Boko Haram for the bombing, one of many attacks that have targeted security officers, local leaders and clerics in and around Maiduguri over the last year.

As well as police posts and beer gardens.

They say civilians are not cooperating and that some are helping Boko Haram carry out their attacks.

"Without the cooperation of residents, the Joint Military Taskforce cannot do anything," said Nwaogbo, who leads a team of soldiers and police officers specially mobilized to fight Boko Haram in Borno state.

Unrest in the area has escalated ever since the group vowed to step up attacks in an unverified June statement. Signed claims of responsibility and threat letters have emerged as a new trend in the operations of this once low-key group.

The University of Maiduguri announced Monday that it was shutting down indefinitely over threat letters attributed to the group.

"We can no longer guarantee the safety of our students," said university spokesman Ahmed Mohammed. "If anything happens to our students, the university will be held responsible."

Some 35,000 students are enrolled in the public university. Police in Maiduguri also banned motorcycles last week in an attempt to stop the group from committing motorcycle-mounted attacks. That move put 7,000 motorcycle taxi drivers out of work.

Yes, the brotherhood of Islam strikes again.

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