At least 8 dead after suicide bombers hit camps in Nigeria
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — At least eight people are dead after female suicide bombers attacked two displaced persons camps in northeastern Nigeria’s main city, a civilian self-defence group said Monday. It was the first major attack on a displaced persons camp in Maiduguri, the birthplace of the Boko Haram extremist insurgency.
The attack started late Sunday night and left another 15 people wounded, spokesman Bello Danbatta with the Civilian-JTF group told The Associated Press.
The Nigeria-based extremist group Boko Haram often targets the city with suicide bombers and increasingly has been using female ones. Nigeria’s government late last year declared the group “crushed” but dozens of such attacks have been carried out this year.
The latest bombings occurred a few days after Nigeria’s army chief of staff issued a 40-day deadline for troops to flush out Boko Haram’s leader and finish off the extremist group.