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| Explosion hits Nigeria World Cup TV venue | Explosion hits Nigeria World Cup TV venue |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An explosion has hit northern Nigeria's Yobe state at a venue televising a World Cup football match, residents and security officials say. | An explosion has hit northern Nigeria's Yobe state at a venue televising a World Cup football match, residents and security officials say. |
| The blast hit Damaturu town at about 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT), reports said. | The blast hit Damaturu town at about 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT), reports said. |
| There were reports of casualties being brought into hospitals, but it is not clear if there were any deaths. | There were reports of casualties being brought into hospitals, but it is not clear if there were any deaths. |
| Yobe is one of three areas under a state of emergency amid attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants. | Yobe is one of three areas under a state of emergency amid attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants. |
| "There was an explosion outside a soccer viewing centre here in Damaturu at around 20:15," Sanusi Ruf'ai, police commissioner for Yobe state, told AFP news agency. | "There was an explosion outside a soccer viewing centre here in Damaturu at around 20:15," Sanusi Ruf'ai, police commissioner for Yobe state, told AFP news agency. |
| "Our men have deployed to the scene but it's too early for us to give details." | "Our men have deployed to the scene but it's too early for us to give details." |
| Trucks carrying bodies have arrived at a local hospital, Reuters news agency reported, citing a source at the hospital. | |
| 'Football un-Islamic' | |
| The Nigerian authorities have warned residents in some states to avoid public screenings of the World Cup, fearing militant attacks. | The Nigerian authorities have warned residents in some states to avoid public screenings of the World Cup, fearing militant attacks. |
| On Thursday, the north-eastern state of Adamawa ordered all venues planning to show live coverage of the football tournament to close, saying they had received intelligence of planned bomb attacks. | On Thursday, the north-eastern state of Adamawa ordered all venues planning to show live coverage of the football tournament to close, saying they had received intelligence of planned bomb attacks. |
| The states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have been under a state of emergency since May 2013. At least 2,000 people have died in the north-east since Boko Haram launched an insurgency in 2009. | The states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have been under a state of emergency since May 2013. At least 2,000 people have died in the north-east since Boko Haram launched an insurgency in 2009. |
| Analysts say Islamist militant groups, including Boko Haram, have described football as un-Islamic. | |
| On 1 June at least 14 people were killed in a bomb attack on a bar in Adamawa that was screening a televised football match. No group claimed responsibility for the blast. | |
| In March, many people were also killed in explosions while watching football in a video hall in Borno's Maiduguri town. On both occasions, Boko Haram were blamed for the blasts. | |
| Boko Haram - which means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language - wants to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state. | |
| The group captured international attention in April after it abducted more than 200 girls in Chibok in Borno state. | |
| It is also suspected of killing at least 29 students in an attack on a boarding school in Yobe in February. |