– At least 18 dead after several attacks in the northeast
Several suicide attacks in northeastern Nigeria this Saturday left at least 18 dead.
An aerial view of part of Gwoza, northeastern Nigeria, August 1, 2017.
AFP
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At least 18 people were killed and dozens injured in several suicide attacks, including at a wedding, on Saturday in the town of Gwoza in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, according to local emergency services. These unclaimed attacks are reminiscent of the modus operandi of the Boko Haram movement, which is deeply rooted in this region of Nigeria bordering Cameroon.
A suicide bombing has initially killed six people at a wedding, police say. A female suicide bomber carrying a baby on her back detonated explosives among partying guests just after attending a wedding in the town of Gwoza, Borno state police spokesman Nahum Kenneth Daso told AFP.
“Around 3 p.m., the first bomb explosion in Gwoza occurred, triggered by a female suicide bomber in the middle of a wedding,” said Barkindo Saidu, head of local emergency services (SEMA ) who was in Gwoza during the attacks, in a report read by an AFP journalist.
Around the city’s general hospital
“So far, 18 people, including children, men, women and pregnant women, have been killed in the attacks,” the report said, adding that 19 “critically injured” victims were transported in four ambulances to the regional capital Maiduguri, while 23 others are awaiting evacuation. As funeral prayers for the victims of the wedding bombing continued, another female suicide bomber “rushed in and detonated another device that claimed many lives,” the report said.
Minutes later, an explosion “of another device by a teenage girl” took place near the city’s general hospital, Barkindo Saidu added in his report. A member of the anti-jihadist militia that assists the army in the city and who confirmed the multiple suicide attacks said that two of his comrades and a soldier were also killed in another suicide attack targeting a security post. This toll has not been confirmed by an official source.
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