Multiple bombings in Nigeria kill several people
Three explosions have ripped through the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri killing at least 8 people.
The blasts targeted a mosque and the area near it, authorities said Sunday.
Many more were feared dead, and around 50 injured people had been taken to hospital for treatment.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosions, but authorities said that they bore the hallmarks of the Takfiri militant group Boko Haram.
"There were three improvised explosive devices explosions at Gomari and Ajilari general area in Maiduguri at about 7:21 pm," military spokesman Colonel Sani Usman told reporters.
"Although details are not clear, it is important to note the attacks signify high level of desperation on the part of the Boko Haram terrorists," he added.
Since the beginning of Boko Haram’s bloody militancy in 2009, at least 15,000 people have been killed and 1.5 million others displaced due to the violence perpetrated by the group, whose name means “Western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language, the most commonly-spoken language in Nigeria.
Meanwhile in neighboring Cameroon, at least five people were killed in a bomb attack in the northern town of Mora.
The Cameroon military said that the attack appeared to have been launched by Nigeria's Boko Haram.
The dead included a police officer, two civilians and the two female bombers, who detonated themselves near the entrance to the town.
"It happened not far from the town stadium when the police officer who was killed attempted to carry out a routine check," one of the military officers who was on the scene told AFP.
Boko Haram has stepped up its attacks in the area since Cameroon last year launched a crackdown on the group.
Boko Haram militants frequently cross into neighboring Cameroon, where thousands of Nigerians have sought refuge.
Cameroon is a major contributor to an 8,700-strong Nigerian-led regional force expected to start operations against Boko Haram this year.
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