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Nigeria violence: Explosion hits Abuja near motor park blast | Nigeria violence: Explosion hits Abuja near motor park blast |
(35 minutes later) | |
An apparent car bomb attack has killed at least nine people in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, officials say. | |
The explosion happened in the suburb of Nyanya, close to a motor park where at least 70 people died in a blast on 14 April. | |
Witnesses said it went off near a police checkpoint. | |
No group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack. The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has previously targeted locations in Abuja. | |
Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency said nine people had died and many more were injured. | |
Campaign of violence | Campaign of violence |
Most of Boko Haram's attacks have been in the north-east of Nigeria. | Most of Boko Haram's attacks have been in the north-east of Nigeria. |
But the bombing on 14 April raised fears that the militants could be trying to expand their area of operation. | But the bombing on 14 April raised fears that the militants could be trying to expand their area of operation. |
The BBC's Will Ross in says the latest blast comes at a terrible time for Nigeria, which is also dealing with the the abduction of 230 schoolgirls that happened hours after the previous Nyanya attack. | The BBC's Will Ross in says the latest blast comes at a terrible time for Nigeria, which is also dealing with the the abduction of 230 schoolgirls that happened hours after the previous Nyanya attack. |
Boko Haram's fighters have killed more than 1,500 civilians in three states in north-east Nigeria this year. | Boko Haram's fighters have killed more than 1,500 civilians in three states in north-east Nigeria this year. |
The group has hit Abuja several times before, including an attack on the United Nations building in 2011. | |
But before 14 April, there had not been an attack in the capital for two years, our correspondent says. | But before 14 April, there had not been an attack in the capital for two years, our correspondent says. |
The Nigerian government had said the violence was contained in a small area of the north-east. | The Nigerian government had said the violence was contained in a small area of the north-east. |
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, has been waging a campaign of gun and bomb attacks since 2009. | Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, has been waging a campaign of gun and bomb attacks since 2009. |