Abuja, 03 Safar,1438 AH, 03 November,2016 , SPA -- Nine people were killed when a van carrying explosives blew up at a military checkpoint in north-eastern Nigeria, police said Tuesday, according to dpa. The explosion occurred on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the capital of volatile Borno State on Tuesday morning, the state's police spokesman Victor Isuku said. All nine of the van's passengers were killed, he added. It was not immediately clear if the explosion was accidental or a suicide bombing, but the incident carries the handwriting of terrorist group Boko Haram. The extremists pose a steady threat to communities in the north-east of Nigeria and have also launched offensives in neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon. -- SPA 11:43 LOCAL TIME 08:43 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w