A loud explosion rocked the troubled North Eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Sunday. Residents of the area in which it occurred, Bulabulin Ngarnam, say it was an attack on a military patrol vehicle.
It has not been ascertained if there were deaths or injuries linked to the explosion which some residents described as "the loudest heard so far in the city".
"Nobody knows the extent of the damage because the area has been cordoned off by soldiers," said Hammadi Yakubu, a resident.
Another resident, Bunu Zarabe, said he saw an ambulance speeding out of the area with a military van behind it.
Residents in the neighbourhood have begun fleeing the area, out of fears of a military raid in response to the blasts.
Soldiers have, in the past, been accused of rampaging though neighbourhoods after such explosions, killing residents, burning homes and claiming locals cooperated with the Boko Haram sect.
Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, has been hit by series of attacks blamed on Boko Haram, an Islamist sect which claimed responsibility for the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Abuja that killed at least 24 people.
Earlier this month, the military in Borno State said criminals were hiding "under the pretence of Boko Haram to commit crimes" in the state, and set a deadline of October 31 for residents to turn in all illegal weapons and explosives in their possession.
"Those who refuse to surrender their arms would face consequences after the expiration of the deadline," the Military's statement read.
Police and Military officials could not be reached for comments on the new explosion.
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