Boko Haram: Female bombers kill 32, injure 84 in Borno

From the Nigerian newspapers, The Punch and The Nation

No fewer than 32 persons were killed,  while 84 others were  injured when six suicide bombers detonated Improvised Explosive Devices(IEDs), in Damboa local government area in Borno state on Saturday.

…a source in Damboa, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our correspondent on Sunday that a rocket-propelled grenades allegedly fired by the members of the Boko Haram sect left no less than 31 persons dead. He claimed that the insurgents unleashed suicide bombers and later hit the area with rocket-propelled grenades.

He said the suicide attacks were first unleashed on the community to draw people out while the rocket-propelled grenades were shot at the gathering of sympathisers. This, he said, was the reason for the high casualty figure.

He said, “Following the suicide bombings, the jihadists fired rocket-propelled grenades into the crowds that had gathered at the scene of the attacks, thus increasing the number of casualties.

Some locals alleged that the deaths arose from a  misfiring by the Nigerian Army’s artillery but the army denied the claim. 

Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, denied the claim, saying the killings were caused by  suicide attacks and not military artillery. “There  was nothing like an attack from the military artillery. You can see the pictures of six female bombers who detonated their explosives and as a result, 20 persons were killed while others were injured,” he said. Rogers urged people to disregard the claim that people were killed by the military and not by suicide bombers.

Modu-Zannah Maina, the District Head of Damboa, who described the incident as “shocking and disturbing”, said the attack was perpetrated by female suicide bombers. Maina lamented that a lot of those  that were affected were mostly children adding that many victims were injured.

A local government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the death toll. He said, “The latest death toll is now 31 but it may increase because many among the injured may not survive. Most of the casualties were from the rocket fired at the gathering of sympathisers.”