Blasts kill 10 in Boko Haram stronghold in Nigeria

Two blasts have ripped through the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, a stronghold of the Boko Haram militant group, killing at least 10 people, residents say.

The explosions, which took place in a densely populated part of the city on Saturday, made the residents escape in panic.

According to witnesses, a thick smoke billowed into the sky following the blasts, which occurred two minutes apart.

“The first blast happened at 6:15 p.m. and targeted residents… Other residents mobilized to the scene to assist the victims and that was when the second blast happened,” a local resident said.

Emergency services rushed to the scene after the incident, said a Nigerian security official on condition of anonymity.

“It is too early to say what happened or how many people were killed… it is getting dark, but our men and the fire service operatives are on their way to the scene,” he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosions.

In January, dozens of people were killed after a blast in a popular telecoms market in the city.

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.

Over the past four-and-a-half years, violence in the north of Africa’s most populous country has claimed the lives of more than 3,600 people, including killings by the security forces.

Boko Haram — whose name means “Western education is forbidden” — says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.