Three soldiers were injured on Monday after a vehicle of the Joint Task Force (JTF) on Operation Restore Order was hit by an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) at Dalla, Maiduguri.
JTF spokesman Lt. Col. Hassan Ifijeh told newsmen in Maiduguri that a civilian was also injured by the blast.
“Some persons planted an IED near a high tension electricity pole in Dalla. They detonated the devise when our vehicle was passing. The explosion resulted in crisis as the entire area was engulfed by fire.''
He explained that the explosion also led to destruction of some private cars. “The incident happened near a roadside petrol hawker. The vibration and the sound of the explosion ignited the petrol in the Jerry cans. Some private cars inside a nearby mechanic shop were also affected by the inferno.''
He said, however, that the injured had been rushed to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) for medical attention. “The JTF has also commenced investigations into the blast.''
He said a number of suspects were arrested in connection with the blast and declined to give further details.
Some residents, however, faulted the JTF claim on the destruction of private cars, saying it was men in uniform who set the cars ablaze and not petrol from a hawker.
Mr Simon Templer, a resident, said: “I was about leaving my house to my shop when I heard the explosion. I knew that it was a sign of danger. But before I could do anything I began to hear sound of gun shots everywhere.''
Templer added that the soldiers were shooting sporadically after the blast.
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But JTF spokesman insisted that there was no casualty as a result of the blast.
“Nobody died. Only three soldiers and one civilian got injured. I was there and I saw things myself.''
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a JTF vehicle was also shattered by a bomb in Gwange Ward last Sunday.?