Nigerian army to launch attacks against insurgent strongholds

A bomb exploded on Sunday in the town of Okine in central Nigeria on Sunday with no casualties reported. Police spokesman Simon Ile said that the authorities have so far caught two people for possible involvement in the case.                     

The Nigerian Army declared that it would launch attacks against radical Islamist strongholds this week. Radical groups have so far been found responsible for the recent attacks which claimed the lives of 23 Christians in the state of Hadaba, central Nigeria.                        

Christians and Muslims have clashed for years in central Nigeria, a conflict that took an unexpected turn when Islamist insurgents based in the northeast claimed responsibility for deadly weekend raids on Christian villages.                    

A statement attributed to the Islamist radical sect Boko Haram and obtained by The Associated Press claimed it was responsible for the attacks and warned that Christians "will not know peace again" if they do not accept Islam.                  

Boko Haram members and most Fulani herdsmen are Muslims. But the ethnic composition of Boko Haram is believed to be different from the Fulani people, and Boko Haram has been known to turn against Muslims who do not share its extremist views.

LBCI/AP