At least 14 people were killed in three separate suicide bomb attacks in Damaturu, northeast Nigeria, on Wednesday, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said. The blasts came after Boko Haram militants this week claimed to have carried out three suicide attacks on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, last Friday that left 18 dead and 41 injured.
Suspicion for the latest bombings will likely fall on the Islamist rebels, who have repeatedly attacked Damaturu during their bloody, six-year insurgency. Last month, a girl thought to be aged 12 killed six and injured 47 when the explosives she was carrying went off outside a bus station in the Yobe state capital.
NEMA coordinator for Yobe state Bashir Idris Garga said the first blast Wednesday happened at a small food store on a housing estate, killing four. Another near a mosque killed one, while nine, including a family, lost their lives when another bomber exploded at a Fulani settlement on the outskirts of the city.
“Total injured 10, seven partially injured and three critically injured,” Garga said in a text message. Yobe state police spokesman Toyin Gbadegesin told AFP “gun-wielding bombers” carried out the attacks between 5:30 and 6:00 am before the night-time curfew was lifted. “All the areas affected have been cordoned off and the police have held meetings with community leaders… for them to be more vigilant and suspicious of strange faces and movements,” he added.
‘Attack repelled’
Boko Haram has reverted to attacking “soft” civilian targets after last year’s land grab that saw it seize towns and villages across Yobe and neighbouring Borno and Adamawa states. Nigeria’s military has claimed a series of successes against the insurgents and on Wednesday claimed to have killed scores of rebel fighters during clashes with troops south of Damaturu.
Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said fighters attempted to attack a battalion of soldiers in Goniri, some 60 kilometres by road southeast of Damaturu, in the early hours of Wednesday. “During the encounter our gallant troops successfully repelled the attacked and inflicted heavy casualty on the invading terrorists as all of them were killed,” he said in a statement.
“On the last count over 100 terrorists bodies were seen,” he added. There was no independent verification and the army has previously claimed high losses on the part of the militants. Usman said seven soldiers were killed and nine others injured in the fighting, which also saw troops recover arms and ammunition, including primed improvised explosive devices.
Boko Haram has reverted to attacking “soft” civilian targets after last year’s land grab that saw it seize towns and villages across Yobe and neighbouring Borno and Adamawa states. Nigeria’s military has claimed a series of successes against the insurgents and on Wednesday claimed to have killed scores of rebel fighters during clashes with troops south of Damaturu.
Army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said fighters attempted to attack a battalion of soldiers in Goniri, some 60 kilometres by road southeast of Damaturu, in the early hours of Wednesday. “During the encounter our gallant troops successfully repelled the attacked and inflicted heavy casualty on the invading terrorists as all of them were killed,” he said in a statement.
“On the last count over 100 terrorists bodies were seen,” he added. There was no independent verification and the army has previously claimed high losses on the part of the militants. Usman said seven soldiers were killed and nine others injured in the fighting, which also saw troops recover arms and ammunition, including primed improvised explosive devices.
-Vanguard
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