News / Nigeria

Several injured as bomber attacks market in northeast Nigeria

Monday, 26 December 2016 2:21 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 26 December 2016 2:46 PM ]

People gather at the site of a car blast in Maiduguri, northeastern Borno State in Nigeria, on October 12, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

A number of people have been injured after a bomber attacked a cattle market in Nigeria’s violence-plagued state of Borno.

The bomb blast was carried out on Monday, when a female assailant detonated her explosives at the Kasuwan Shanu market in Maiduguri, the militancy-riddled capital of the northeastern Nigerian state.

Witnesses and local residents said that a number of people had been injured in the assault. However, there was no official confirmation of casualties.

Nigerian police said in a statement that a second woman who had a bomb was "lynched by an irate mob in the vicinity." Security forces later managed to detonate her device.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the bomb attack. Nigerian officials, however, often blame such acts of terror on the Boko Haram Takfiri militant group, which has been active since 2009.

The latest attack comes as Boko Haram militants continue to stage bombings in the northeast and in neighboring Niger and Cameroon.

The file photo shows soldiers standing by the road in Damboa, Borno state, northeastern Nigeria. (By AFP)

A suspected Boko Haram bomber killed at least two civilians in Cameroon on Sunday. The bombing was carried out in the town of Mora, near the Nigerian border.

Mora, which has frequently been hit by 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.

Boko Haram started its campaign with the aim of toppling the Nigerian government. The Takfiri terrorist group later expanded its activities to the neighboring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Boko Haram terrorists have so far killed more than 20,000 people and forced over 2.7 million others from their homes. The group has pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri terrorists operating mainly in Syria and Iraq.

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