The rocket missed the main school building and hit a nearby house instead, killing the boy, said Capt. Salisu Mustapha. He said a rocket-propelled grenade was used in the attack, but he had no further information on who might have carried out the attack. No arrests were made.

Jos, the capital of Plateau state, is reeling from religious violence.

The radical Islamist sect Boko Haram previously claimed responsibility for bomb attacks on Christian churches in the city and the state. It also claimed responsibility last week for attacks that saw hundreds of assailants storm a dozen predominantly Christian villages in the state, killing about 60.

Overall, Boko Haram is held responsible for more than 630 deaths this year alone according to an Associated Press count.

The sect has been trying to fan religious conflict with its attacks often focusing on areas with religious tensions and a history of reprisal attacks in this oil-rich nation of more than 160 million people.