Qa'dah 26, 1431 H/ Nov. 3, 2010, SPA -- Authorities in Nigeria said that an explosion struck a government-run hotel near the seat of power for a state in the oil-rich and restive southern delta. Delta state officials said the explosion occurred Wednesday afternoon in the state capital Asaba. The explosion caused a fire in two rooms of the lodge, though no one was injured in the blasts, AP quoted officials as adding. Officials say security agencies continue to investigate the explosion. Militants in the southern Niger Delta began a campaign of kidnapping and pipeline bombings in 2006, upset over pollution and the region's endemic poverty despite 50 years of oil production. Violence has dropped after a government-sponsored amnesty program, though a major militant group had promised new attacks in the region.
