4 dead as grenade blasts shake northeastern Nigeria: Eyewitness

By Olarewaju Kola

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - A rocket-propelled grenade killed at least four people in northeastern Nigeria on Thursday, according to residents.

Vigilante and eyewitness Auwal Mohammed said a grenade that landed on a house near the local airport in the city of Maiduguri caused an explosion that killed three people.

"I was standing few meters from the house when I heard the explosion. We carried three bodies from the scene," he told Anadolu Agency, adding that the incident had occurred at about 9 a.m. local time (0800GMT).

Another area, Gomari Ayafe, in the west of Maiduguri was also hit by a grenade, leading to the death of a young man, two police sources and residents in the area said.

Musa Ali, a local school teacher, said the explosion occurred a few minutes after the first nearby.

Three people, including a mother and her baby, were injured, officials at the local Umaru Shehu Hospital confirmed on condition of anonymity.

Neither the military nor the police commented on the attack, telling Anadolu Agency.

The Thursday incident was the second in recent time. Early December, several residents were injured following explosions from rocket-propelled grenade fired into the same area by Boko Haram and its affiliated group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).