At least 18 people were killed and dozens injured in several suicide attacks on Saturday in the town of Gwoza, in Borno state, in northeastern Nigeria, recalling a modus operandi favored by the jihadist sect Boko Haram.
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Deeply rooted in this region of Nigeria bordering Cameroon, Boko Haram is known for having used 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 gatherings of civilians.
Suicide attacks have recently become rare in Nigeria, with jihadist fighters preferring other modes of action (kidnappings, killings, looting, etc.).
On Saturday afternoon, a suicide attack initially killed six people at a wedding, according to police.
Femme kamikaze
A 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.
“So far, 18 people, including children, men, women and pregnant women, have been killed in the attacks,” the report said, adding that 19 “seriously injured” victims were transported in four ambulances. to the regional capital Maiduguri, while 23 others await evacuation.
The shadow of Boko Haram
As funeral prayers for the victims of the wedding bombing continued, another female suicide bomber “rushed in and detonated another device that caused numerous casualties,” the report said.
Minutes later, an explosion “of another device by a teenage girl” took place near the city’s general hospital, Mr Saidu added in his report.
A member of the anti-jihadist militia assisting the army in the city and who confirmed the multiple suicide attacks said two of his comrades and a soldier were also killed in another suicide attack targeting a security post. This report has not been confirmed by an official source.
Boko Haram seized Gwoza in 2014 and declared it a caliphate after seizing part of Borno state.
The town was retaken by the Nigerian army with the help of Chadian forces in 2015, but the jihadist group continues to launch attacks from the mountains overlooking the town on the border with Cameroon.
Boko Haram continues to carry out raids in the area, killing men and abducting women who venture out of town in search of firewood.
The jihadist violence, which has lasted for 15 years, has left more than 40,000 dead and displaced around two million in the northeast of the country.
The conflict has spread to neighbouring Niger, Cameroon and Chad, leading to the creation of a regional military coalition to fight the Islamists, the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), made up of the armies of the four countries.
While Boko Haram has lost ground in recent years, the jihadist fighters continue to regularly attack rural communities in Nigeria.
