At least 18 people were killed and dozens injured in multiple suicide bombings in the town of Gwoza in Borno state in northeastern Nigeria on Saturday, in attacks reminiscent of those carried out by the Boko Haram group.
Boko Haram, which has its roots in this region bordering Cameroon, is known for using female suicide bombers in its armed struggle to establish a caliphate in northeastern Nigeria against soft targets such as markets, schools, mosques, churches and large concentrations of civilians.
Recently, suicide bombings have become rare in Nigeria as jihadists prefer other methods, including kidnapping, killing and looting.
Police said a suicide bomber killed six people at a wedding on Saturday.
A female suicide bomber carrying a child on her back detonated an explosive device among guests celebrating after attending a wedding in the town of Gwoza, Borno state police spokesman Nahum Kenneth Dasu told AFP.
In a report seen by Agence France-Presse, the head of the local emergency services, Barkindo Saidu, who was in Gwoza during the attacks, said, "At about 3 p.m., the first bomb blast occurred in Gwoza, caused by a female suicide bomber at a wedding party."
"So far, 18 people have been killed in the attacks, including children, men, women and pregnant women," he said, adding that 19 others "with serious injuries" were taken in four ambulances to the state capital, Maiduguri, while 23 others were awaiting evacuation.
As prayers were being held for the victims of the wedding attack, "another female suicide bomber quickly detonated an explosive device, causing many casualties," the report said.
A few minutes later, a young woman detonated "another explosive device" near the city's general hospital, Saeedou said in his report.
A member of the anti-jihadist armed group supporting the army in the city confirmed the multiple suicide attacks and said that two of his colleagues and a soldier were killed in another suicide attack on a security compound. No official source confirmed the result.
Boko Haram took control of Gwoza in July 2014, declaring it the seat of its "caliphate" after seizing parts of Borno state.
Although the Nigerian army retook Gwoza in March 2015 with the support of Chadian forces, the jihadists continue to attack villages from their mountain hideouts on the border with Cameroon, killing men and kidnapping women who venture out of town in search of firewood.
For years, violence has plagued the northern and central parts of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, where criminal or jihadist gangs regularly carry out attacks and kidnap residents.
At least 40,000 people have been killed and two million displaced since the group began its rule in 2009.
The rebellion has spread to Chad, Niger and Cameroon, leading to the formation of a regional military force to fight the militants, known as the Multinational Joint Force, which is made up of elements from the armed forces of the four countries.
0 Comments