8 dead as suicide bombers attack Maiduguri

FILE PHOTO: Boko Haram Suicide bombers have consistently attacked Maiduguri

Nigerian officials say at least eight people have been killed after five suicide bombers attacked the northeastern city of Maiduguri.

The National Emergency Management Agency says the Wednesday morning blasts were detonated at various points along the Maiduguri-Gamboru highway.

They included a camp for displaced people where two civilians were killed.

The emergency management agency says all five of the bombers were killed. Another 20 people were injured.

Maiduguri is the birthplace of the Boko Haram extremist group and the base for Nigerian military efforts to counter it.

The city is the frequent target of suicide bombers.

Boko Haram recently has begun using young females as bombers, but officials say all of the attackers on Wednesday were men.

The last attack on Maiduguri was on 19 March when the Borno State Police Command confirmed the death of four persons after an attempt by some suspected suicide bombers to infiltrate Maiduguri in Borno.

Mr Victor Isuku, the spokesman of the command said in a statement in Maiduguri that three bombers had attempted to infiltrate Maiduguri at about 9.00 p.m. on Saturday.

“At about 2100hrs of Saturday, three suicide bombers, a male and two female, attempted to infiltrate Maiduguri town through Umarari village in Molai general area.

“They were sighted and challenged by civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) member, a government-approved militia group,’’ Isuku stated.

He said the bombers detonated the improvised explosive device strapped to their bodies while running in different directions and four persons died in the process.

“Four people, including a civilian JTF, a woman and her two children died while eight others sustained injuries’’, Isuku said.

The Boko Haram insurgency has killed more than 15,000 people since 2009 and forced some two million to flee their homes.

Although the Nigerian army, backed up by neighbours, has retaken most areas held by the group, the jihadists still operate in the area of Rann, slipping over the porous Cameroon border after attacks.