* Islamist sect Boko Haram has killed hundreds
* Sect under pressure in military crackdown
KANO, Nigeria, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Nigerian security forces
discovered a bomb-making factory on Saturday in Kano, a northern
city that has been plagued by an Islamist insurgency, the secret
service said.
Boko Haram, a group styled on the Taliban, is waging an
insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan's government with
the avowed aim of carving an Islamic state out of Nigeria, a
country of more than 160 million split roughly equally between
Christians and Muslims.
The group has killed hundreds in gun and bomb attacks in the
past two and a half years, mostly in the predominantly Muslim
north, although it has struck central Nigeria and the capital
Abuja.
The director of the Kano branch of Nigeria's State Security
Services (SSS), Bassey Eteng, said the raid had uncovered 12
improvised bombs and bomb-making chemicals, more than 600 rounds
of ammunition, military uniforms and eight AK-47 assault rifles.
"Most of the items recovered were going to be used to mount
an attack on Sallah (Muslim holiday), according to our
intelligence report," Eteng said.
"There was no casualty of any party during the operations.
An investigation to find the terrorists continues."
A military push in the north appears to have weakened the
group. However, Jonathan's critics say he relies too much on the
military to defeat Boko Haram, rather than addressing
northerners' grievances such as poverty and unemployment.
As Boko Haram comes under pressure in its northeastern
heartland, its attacks have spread further afield. Suspected
Islamists opened fire on Christian worshippers in the central
state of Kogi on Monday, killing 19.
(Reporting by Idris Jibrin; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by
Alessandra Rizzo)
