Three people have been killed and two dozen others injured in a bombing carried out by a suspected member of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group in Cameroon’s volatile northern region, security officials say.
The attack was carried out in Mora, a town in Cameroon's Far North Region near the Nigerian border, at about 7:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) on Sunday, when a young man, suspected to be from Nigeria and riding a motorbike, detonated his explosives on a bridge near a crowded market.
According to the governor of the region, Midjiyawa Bakari, the victims included a teacher, a high school student and a person from a neighboring town. He went on to say that five of the wounded were in a “serious condition.”
No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, but Boko Haram, which is based in Nigeria, has carried out similar attacks in Cameroon.
In June, a bomb attack conducted by Boko Haram claimed the lives of 11 people at a mosque in the town of Djakana, located in the same region.
Mora, which has frequently suffered from deadly attacks by Boko Haram, is home to the headquarters of a joint force consisting of soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, which is tasked with battling the terror group.
Over 8,000 Cameroonian soldiers are currently deployed in the Far North Region as well as a large military base consisting of motorized infantry brigades in Mora.
Boko Haram is based in Nigeria but has been carrying out terrorist attacks in neighboring countries including Cameroon and Chad.
The terrorist group, which has pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri terrorists, started its reign of terror in Nigeria in 2009 with the aim of toppling the central government. The violence is estimated to have claimed a total of 20,000 lives and forced over 2.8 million others from their homes.