Boko Haram: 3 die as explosion rocks bomb factory in Borno

* 2 cops killed in Kano

By Ndahi Marama, AbdulSalem Muhammed, Kano

An explosion that took place in a bomb factory in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, has claimed the lives of three persons  believed to be operators of the factory and suspected to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram that have been terrorizing the people of the state.

The explosion, which occurred at about 9:00 a.m., yesterday in Shehuri II, Bolori ward of the metropolis, also brought down  the house as well as some nearby  houses.

The incident happened just as two policemen were killed in Kano metropolis by gunmen on Friday night. Only last Thursday, five officers of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had been killed in the Kano metropolis by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram  members.

Some the recovered items.

Briefing journalists on the Maiduguri incident, the commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Major General Ikechukwu Nwaogbo, said at about 9:00 a.m., yesterday, an explosion occurred in Shehuri II of Bolori in the Borno State capital.

Speaking through his spokesman, Lt. Col. Hassan Mohammed, he said immediately after the blast, the personnel of the JTF moved to the location and discovered that a house inhabited by unidentified, but suspected to be Boko Haram  members had exploded.

Hassan  said the immediate cause of the explosion could not be ascertained and the area was cordoned off, after which the police Bomb Disposal Squad was called in for detailed investigations.

He said after investigations, the security operatives discovered that the house was confirmed to be one used by suspected members of the Boko Haram as a major factory for the production of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The spokesman said large quantities of unused IED materials, such as ready- to –detonate three drums which could  contain 600 litres sealed with gun powder, three unidentified mutilated corpses suspected to be responsible for manning the factory were recovered.

Other  recovered items include, 2 AK47 rifles, ammunitions, remote controls, mutilated mobile police uniforms with ranks, injecting sringes, one grinding machine, assorted containers of gun powder, tapes with Islamic inscriptions, a laptop, a video camera, GSM handsets, wall clocks and several prepared IEDs.

Hassan  said that the suspects were killed in the process of making an IED for deployment, “but as God will have it, it turned  back to them, as they all died”. The house, he said, was also destroyed by the explosion, adding that efforts  were on to track down other suspects and the owner of the house even as he said no arrest was made.

Meanwhile, the Kano attack, which claimed the lives  of the two policemen, reportedly occurred around 10 p.m., on Friday, at Geida rail crossing in Kumbotso local government area when the assailant opened  fire on the officers manning the road block and  killed them on the spot.

The police image maker in Kano State, Magaji Musa Majiya, while confirming the story, explained that “a constable on duty at the check point lost his life, while another officer was critically injured and receiving medical attention.”

The PPRO stated that the police were yet to ascertain the identity of the assailant, adding that the command had launched a comprehensive investigation on the attack.