Separate bomb blasts kill dozens in northeast Nigeria
Dozens of people have been killed and dozens more injured after two separate bomb explosions ripped through the violence-plagued northeastern part of Nigeria, as the West African nation is battling the militancy waged by Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists.
Bashir Malam, a fighter with a civilian defense group, said eight soldiers lost their lives when an assailant detonated his explosives-laden car as government forces were checking it near the gates of the Brigadier Maimalari Barracks in the city of Maiduguri, located approximately 870 kilometers (540 miles) north of the capital, Abuja, on Thursday evening.
"The attack was so daring because the bomber must have escaped several checkpoints to get to the soldiers' spot," Malam added.
Hours later, a second bomb went off close to the main market in the city of Yola, which is the capital city of Adamawa State and located approximately 704 kilometers (437 miles) northeast of Abuja.
Reports said at least 25 people were killed and many more injured in the blast.
The latest attacks came only days after a French tourist was shot dead and his wife wounded in a suspected robbery in Nigeria’s southeastern state of Ebonyi.
Nigeria’s national police spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu, said on Thursday that the French couple were attacked while they were camped in the bush on June 2.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” controls swathes of land in northeastern Nigeria. The ever increasing threat of Boko Haram has plagued the Central African nations of Cameroon and Chad as well as Niger in Western Africa.
The Takfiri terrorist group says its main goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government. It has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of the country.
The militants have pledged allegiance to the ISIL militant group, which is primarily operating inside Iraq and Syria.
About 15,000 people have been killed and around 1.5 million others displaced since Boko Haram started its militancy in 2009.
MP/MHB/SS
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