Bomb blast strikes near Islamic school in Nigeria.

2012-09-30 8

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: A bomb explosion and hails of gunfire in Nigeria's northern Kaduna state on Sunday left the two alleged attackers dead and several wounded.

The blast rocked the area around an Islamic school run by Salafist cleric Awwal Adam Albani, known for his outspoken criticism of militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bomb attack.

Boko Haram, which wants to carve out an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, has been blamed for more than 1,000 deaths since its insurgency intensified in 2010.

Security analysts say Boko Haram has forged links with other jihadist movements expanding cross West Africa like al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb, a group formed in Algeria and now based in northern Mali.

Apart from the attack on the U.N. headquarters in the Nigerian capital Abuja last August, Boko Haram's focus has been mainly on local targets.

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