Islamic cleric killed in latest violence to hit northeast blamed on radical Muslim sect

Maiduguri, Nigeria - Authorities are blaming members of a radical Muslim sect for the killing of an Islamic cleric in the country's northeast.

Police chief Mike Zuokumor said that when police responded to the scene of the attack Wednesday night in Maiduguri, a police patrol was ambushed by a blast that wounded three officers.

The violence comes amid deadly postelection rioting elsewhere in the north, but the town of Maiduguri has seen little of the election-related unrest reported elsewhere.

The radical Muslim sect known as Boko Haram has targeted police and clerics who oppose the group in a string of killings over the last year. Members also have attacked churches and engineered a massive prison break.