By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, (AA):  Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s suicide attack on a government building in the northeastern Nigerian town of Maiduguri, killing three people, including the bomber.

In a terse statement accompanied by a picture of the terrorist responsible, Boko Haram identified the bomber as Abu Anas al-Ansary.

“He rammed his explosive into the gathering of a misguided crowd in Nigeria,” said the statement.

The Nigerian army confirmed that three people died in the attack, including two policemen who tried to prevent the bomber from gaining access to the Musa Usman government secretariat in Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern Borno state.

“Similarly, 18 people sustained various degrees of injuries,” army spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement.

Boko Haram has largely been curtailed and unable to launch frequent physical attacks, but the militants have resorted to using suicide bombers on “soft” targets.
[Nigeria map showing Maidugur. By Kemal Delikmen/AA]