Witness: New attack hits north Nigeria city a month after feared sect’s deadliest attack

Washington Post (AP)

22 February 2012

Witness: New attack hits north Nigeria city a month after feared sect’s deadliest attack

KANO, Nigeria — Multiple explosions rocked a highway checkpoint in Nigeria’s second-largest city, witnesses said Wednesday, just over a month after a radical Islamist sect claimed an attack there that left at least 185 people dead.

The attacks raise fears that the radical Islamist sect is taking root in the northern city of Kano.

Resident Ali Garba, a 32-year-old bus driver, said he heard at least six explosions as he was preparing to head to the mosque for dawn prayers in a densely populated Kano neighborhood.

After that, he said, he heard gunfire for about two hours. By the time he left his house, the military had cordoned his neighborhood to prepare for searches, forcing him back into his home.

The attack occurred during curfew hours, he said, likely reducing its impact.

There were no casualties and four suspects were arrested during searches, said military spokesman Lt. Ikedichi Iweha who declined to comment further.