Female suicide bomber kills 20 in Maiduguri
(Nigeria) No fewer than 20 people were killed Monday when a young
female suicide bomber detonated her explosives at a bus station in Maiduguri, Borno
State, in an attack likely to be blamed on Boko Haram.
According to AFP, the blast happened near a fish market in the Baga Road area
of the city, which has been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks by shelling,
bombs and suicide attacks.
"We heard a loud explosion at about 3:50 pm (1450 GMT)
while we were preparing for afternoon prayers," said Danlami Ajaokuta, a
civilian vigilante assisting the military against Boko Haram. It happened right
inside the motor park (bus station) attached to the fish market where labourers
were sorting out rice."
He said that according to survivors' accounts, a woman came
into the bus station with a casserole dish, shouting out for customers.
"People were occupied with sorting the rice. No one
paid any attention. Suddenly, the casserole, which obviously contained
explosives, went off. She was blown to pieces. We have sorted out 20 dead
bodies and 50 others that were injured."
Ajaokuta's account was supported by a labourer working at
the scene who survived the blast, which sent people running in all directions
in fear and panic.
"The rescue operation is still on, so the death toll
may be higher at the end," said the labourer, who asked not to be
identified.
Reports from Maiduguri indicated that the bomber was a girl
aged about 17 but there was no immediate confirmation of her age.
There were also indications of a second bombing by a girl
about the same age outside the bus station but no one was hurt.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Boko
Haram extremists have frequently targeted civilians at markets and bus stations
during their six-year insurgency.
The Islamist bombers have also used young women and girls as
human bombs since the middle of last year, as part of a campaign of terror in
the restive northeast and beyond.
Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, has increasingly come
under attack in the weeks since new President Muhammadu Buhari took office on
May 29, vowing to wipe out the Islamists.
Monday's bombing takes the number of attacks in the city to
five this month. Three have been by suicide bombers and one targeted a cattle
market.
On June 3, an improvised explosive device left outside a
mechanics' workshop on the Baga Road killed 18 while on May 30, 26 people were
killed in a suicide attack at a city mosque.
With the latest attack, some 200 people have been killed
since Buhari's inauguration, it was gathered.
Nigeria and its military coalition partners of Niger, Chad
and Cameroon have claimed a series of successes against Boko Haram since
February, pushing the rebels out of captured territory.
But its return to guerrilla tactics aimed at "soft
targets" is a sign that the insurgency, which has cost at least 15,000
lives, is not over, according to analysts.
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