Suicide bombers kill over 47 in Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Saturday

Three bombings in northeast Nigeria’s city of Maiduguri on Saturay killed at least 47 people, including children, and wounded 50, witnesses told AFP.

“The death toll has risen to 47, with at least 50 others injured. The dead include women and children,” said Abubakar Gamandi, head of the Borno state fisherman’s union who was at the scene at of the first attack, Baga market, before moving to Maiduguri General Hospital to help coordinate rescue efforts.

A nurse at the hospital and area vigilante leader Danlami Ajaokuta confirmed his account.

Three bombings rocked separate targets in Maiduguri in violence blamed on Boko Haram.

The first attack was carried out by a female suicide bomber at the market at roughly 11:20 am (1020 GMT), said Mr Gamandi.

“A female suicide bomber exploded as soon as she stepped out of a motorised rickshaw. Eighteen people were killed,” he said.

About an hour later, a bomb blast hit the popular Monday Market, killing another 15 people, according to Mr Gamandi and the nurse, who requested anonymity.

A trader there told the BBC that two other female bombers seemed to have targeted the market.

One had a bomb strapped to her body that detonated as she was being scanned at the gate leading into the market, he said.

Another woman exploded the bomb she was carrying in a bag a few feet away, he added.

It was difficult to know how many people had died as body parts littered the area.

The first two attacks were confirmed by Borno’s Justice Commissioner Kaka Shehu, but he declined to provide casualties figures until rescue workers had completed their searches.

Shortly after 1pm, Mr Shehu phoned AFP in Maiduguri to confirm a third bombing at the busy Borno Express bus terminal, but details, including on casualties, were not immediately available.

“We condemn these acts in their entirety and we extend our condolences to the victims,” Mr Shehu said.

“The terrorists are angry with the way they were sacked from towns and villages and are now venting their anger,” he added.

Mr Shehu was referring to an ongoing offensive against Boko Haram in Borno State being waged by Nigeria and Chad, with support from Cameroon and Niger.

The four-nation offensive has claimed major successes over the insurgents since the start of last month, and analysts have said that Boko Haram would likely step up bombings on civilian targets in response.

Last week, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan said the tide has “definitely turned” against militant Islamists as Nigerian troops and their regional allies recapture territory.

Maiduguri was once the base of the Islamist Boko Haram group that has been conducting a campaign of violence to push for Islamic rule in Nigeria.

After being pushed out of the city last year, the Islamist fighters retreated to the nearby Sambisa Forest from where they launched attacks on villages and towns in the north-east, taking over swathes of territory.

Boko Haram has not yet commented on the latest attacks, but it has used suicide bombers before.

The attacks came three days after suspected Boko Haram militants killed at least 45 people in a village in Borno state on Tuesday.

The gunmen who stormed Njaba targeted men and boys before setting the village on fire, survivors told BBC.

Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in its drive to establish an Islamic state.

The raid on Njaba came as many villagers were attending morning prayers, a witness quoted by news website Sahara Reporters said.

Nigeria’s presidential and parliamentary elections have been postponed by six week to 28 March to give troops more time to beat back Boko Haram.