Suicide bomber kills many in Borno market

A suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber detonated a bomb at a marketplace in Kauri, a rural community in the Konduga area of Borno State, North East Nigeria.

The incident occurred around 9 pm on Wednesday, July 31, at the market area, which operates at night every day and is usually bustling with people, Freelanews reported.

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The areas, mainly settlements of roadside communities situated along the Bama-Maiduguri road, have been frequently terrorised by Boko Haram. This recent attack is one of several that the communities have faced in the past couple of months.

Local sources reported multiple casualties.

A policeman and one woman were killed in that attack while two patrol vans were set ablaze.

A government official from the village said the bomb went off around 8:05 pm at a local tea joint where the villagers gathered for a night chat, adding that dozens of people also got injured.

“Nobody can say exactly how it happened, but we suspected that the bomb was planted, not a suicide attack.

“We saw corpses of 19 people with an unspecified number of civilians injured. The injured were evacuated to an undisclosed hospital in Maiduguri for treatment,” the source told Daily Trust on condition of anonymity.

Kawuri community is located around 50 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital.

The incident occurred 24 hours after an Accountant working with the Local Education Authority in Damboa Local Government Area, Shettima Mustapha, was killed when his vehicle ran into an IED along the Maiduguri -Damboa-Biu highway in Borno.

Efforts to contact the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Daso, were unsuccessful, as his phone couldn’t be reached at the time of filing this report.

The incident comes on the eve of the planned nationwide protest, which the government has repeatedly said could be hijacked by hoodlums and terrorists.

At the time of filing this report, Freelanews reports there has been no official statement about the tragic incident. Authorities have not yet confirmed the number of fatalities.

In separate news, Vanguard on Wednesday reported that a senior Accounting Officer, Education Department of Damboa Local Government Area of Borno state, Shettima Mustapha had died with another victim’s leg amputated with many others injured.

The agency stated that this happened when their vehicle stumbled on an Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) planted by suspected Boko Haram Terrorists along the Maiduguri -Damboa-Biu 185kms expressway.

In June, at least six persons were killed and many others injured in a bomb attack at a wedding venue in Tashan Mararaba, Gwoza town, Borno State.

Quadri Olaitan