Suicide bombings in Gwoza, northeastern Nigeria, kill 18 and injure dozens at a wedding and funeral. Boko Haram suspected in the attacks.
Bollywood Fever: At least 18 people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of suicide bombings on Saturday afternoon in northeastern Nigeria, including at a wedding and a funeral, local officials reported.
Barkindo Saidu, director general of Borno State’s emergency management agency, confirmed that three female attackers struck different locations in Gwoza, a city central to Boko Haram’s insurgency over the past 15 years.
The victims included children and pregnant women, with some reports indicating at least 30 fatalities. As of Sunday afternoon, no group had claimed responsibility, but the attacks resembled those typically carried out by Boko Haram, whose violence has led to the deaths of tens of thousands and displaced over two million people.
The first attacker detonated a bomb at a wedding celebration, killing seven people, including the attacker and a baby she had with her. Kenneth Daso, a public relations officer with Borno police, reported that two additional attackers later detonated bombs near a hospital and at the funeral of a victim from the earlier blast.
The seven killed in the wedding explosion included three men: a high school teacher, an entrepreneur, and a bicycle seller, according to Baba Shehu Saidu, a lecturer at Borno State University and friend of the victims.
Conflicting reports emerged between the police and emergency services. Police spokesperson Kenneth Daso mentioned only two explosions, while Barkindo Saidu from the emergency services confirmed three, including one near a hospital where a teenage girl detonated a device.
At least 30 injured individuals were transported to a larger hospital in Maiduguri, according to Fatima Musa, a civil servant on Gwoza’s local government council.
President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria condemned the attacks as “desperate acts of terror” and an “isolated episode,” without specifying the number of devices detonated or the casualties.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has faced numerous security crises for years, including mass kidnappings. Boko Haram has abducted thousands of teenage girls, coercing them into forced marriages and suicide attacks.
In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in Chibok, an incident that garnered global attention and the “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign. A decade later, many are still missing.
Boko Haram’s former leader, Abubakar Shekau, declared a caliphate in Gwoza in 2014. The Nigerian Army regained control in 2015, and Shekau was killed in 2021, but Boko Haram continues to stage attacks in the area.
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