At least five people were killed and at least XNUMX others were injured Thursday when rockets fired by jihadists were reported to have hit neighborhoods around the area.An airport is located in northeastern Nigeria on the day of President Muhammadu Buhari's visit, residents and a first aid official said.
At around 12:00, at least five rockets were fired from an unknown location at Maiduguri, a major city and capital of Borno state, which has been at the center of a jihadist uprising for 14 years. The city was preparing for the official visit of President Bukhari, who arrived on the spot around 00:XNUMX.
Residents claimed responsibility for the attack on the Islamic State in West Africa (IKDA), an organization whose activities are bleeding the region.
"We transported four bodies to a hospital from a house hit by one of the rockets," said a first aid official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
More than a dozen people were "injured at the three points hit" in the attacks, he added.
"Five rockets hit the city in the morning but it is still too early to report the damage and casualties," said Omar Ari, a member of an anti-jihadist paramilitary group.
According to Abagana Ahmad, an eyewitness, one of the rockets hit a house in the Gomari district, near the airport where the head of state was expected, killing a woman and her three children.
Husseini Garba, a resident of Azilari Kroos, another district of the city, a few kilometers from the airport, said he had just left to go to work when he heard a loud explosion. He immediately returned to his home, where he found his 18-year-old daughter dead and the building destroyed.
Security services and officials had no immediate comment on the attack.
Mr. Bukhari was expected in Maiduguri to inaugurate various projects, including an uneven junction and training center at the city's university. He did not comment publicly on the attack during his visit.
The IKDA and Boko Haram's opponent - the jihadists who founded the first split from the latter - have repeatedly launched deadly attacks, particularly with rockets, on Maiduguri during the uprising that has claimed more than 40.000 lives. has uprooted some two million others.
In early December, jihadists fired rockets at the city, hitting two houses but leaving no casualties.
In February, at least 17 people were killed and about XNUMX others wounded in a rocket attack on Maiduguri as dawn broke. The attack was attributed to IKDA.
The jihadist group has taken control of northeastern Nigeria following the death of Boko Haram leader in May during fighting between them.
Source: RES-EAP