Nigerian soccer viewing center

Tuesday’s explosion at a soccer viewing center in northeastern Nigeria claimed the lives of several men and young boys watching the Brazil-Mexico World Cup match.

A Yobe police official in Damaturu told CNN the extremist group had distributed leaflets to the viewing centers in three different languages warning them not to open during the World Cup.

Maina Ularamu, a local official in Madagali, in Adamawa state, also confirmed to CNN that people in the town — which has been the target of previous Boko Haram attacks — had been warned against watching the soccer matches.

“Letters have been distributed to viewing centers in Adamawa state warning people not to gather to watch the World Cup games,” she said.

To try to combat the growing threat from the militants, the Nigerian government placed Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states under a state of emergency last year.