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Bomb attack at Cameroon mosque claims four lives

Monday, 18 January 2016 2:59 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 18 January 2016 3:00 PM ]

Security forces transport with a blanket the remains of some of the eleven victims of a double blast in the northern Cameroonian city of Maroua on July 22, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

At least four people have lost their lives and two sustained injuries in a bomb attack targeting a mosque in Cameroon’s volatile northern region, a security source says.

"The toll of this attack is four dead and two injured," said the source who was at the scene of the attack on Monday, adding that the incident occurred at around 6:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) in the village of Nguetchewe in Cameroon's far northern region, bordering Nigeria.

According to the source, whose name was not cited in reports, a witness had noticed the suspicious behavior of a young boy arriving in the village on foot and had tried to intercept him.

"The bomber ran towards the mosque, where he set off the explosives he was carrying with him," said the source.

No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly incident, but the Takfiri Boko Haram terrorist group, which is based in neighboring Nigeria, has carried out similar attacks in Cameroon.

In a similar attack last week, 13 people, including the assailant, lost their lives at a mosque bombing in Kolofata district, in northern Cameroon, during morning prayers.

Over 100 people have reportedly been killed in the far north of Cameroon in about 20 bomb blasts blamed on the Boko Haram since July.

Cameroon has joined a regional military alliance alongside Niger, Chad and Nigeria in the battle against Boko Haram.

The Boko Haram militancy began in Nigeria in 2009, when the terrorist group started an armed rebellion against the government. At least 17,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million made homeless ever since.

The terrorists have pledged allegiance to the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, which is primarily operating inside Syria and Iraq.

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