Boko Haram: Recent Bomb Attack Kills At Least 25 In Maiduguri!

At least 25 people were killed and 12 injured in a bomb attack believed to have been carried out by Islamist extremists known as the Boko Haram in
Maiduguri, Nigeria on Sunday.
Police said the attack was carried out by two men riding on motorcycles who threw bombs into three beer gardens in the city of Maiduguri, Borno state, during the afternoon.

The authorities have attributed the bombings to the Boko Haram group, who recently claimed responsibility for another attack that killed at least 22 people at the police headquarters in the country's capital, Abuja.

Boko Haram, whose name in the northern Hausa language translates as "western education is sacrilege" is seeking to impose sharia law in the north of the country.

Borno is one of 12 states to have taken on shariah law and, although hidden from view, outdoor beer gardens are still popular haunts.

The attacks demonstrate the continuing religious tensions in the north of the country, which has seen the group target the police, churches and Islamic clerics.

The most recent attack shows civilians are also targets.

While those in Boko Haram, which was founded in 2002, have been seen as local radicals, security sources reportedly believe the group may be receiving training and expertise from outside the country.

Authorities have attempted to clamp down on the group through Operation Flush, following violent clashes with government forces across four states in 2009 in which more than 700 people were killed. The government, which has since increased its military presence, was later accused of carrying out extra-judicial killings.

Boko Haram's founder, Mohammed Yusuf, was captured and shot dead by security forces in 2009.

Just before the attack on Sunday, Sani Aliyu Rano, a politician in neighbouring Kano state, called on the government to explore dialogue with the group in order to avoid disturbances.