At least 18 dead in suspected suicide bomb attacks in Nigeria

A series of bomb attacks in Nigeria have killed at least 18 people and injured more than 40, the head of the local state emergency management agency said on Saturday.

Suspected female suicide bombers separately attacked a wedding, a funeral and a hospital, according to Barkindo Saidu, the director general of the Borno state emergency management agency.

So far, 18 deaths have been confirmed, with the dead including children, adults and pregnant women.

Nigeria’s Vanguard News , however, reported that the death toll could be higher, close to 30.

“The first bomb blast occurred around 3pm in the midst of a wedding ceremony. A few minutes later, another bomb blast occurred at General Hospital Gwoza. In the midst of sorrow, the people in the community gathered for the funeral congregation of the deceased people, (and) another suicide bomber denoted a bomb,” the state emergency management said.

“The injured victims are being treated at Medical Regimental Services (MRS) clinic before being conveyed to Maiduguri for proper treatment,” it said.

The military has imposed a curfew, and no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The attacks took place in the town of Gwoza in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno, which has been at the centre of a 15-year Islamist insurgency.

Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), are the most active militant organisations in Borno, a vast rural area comparable in size to Ireland.

In 2014, Boko Haram seized the town but it was taken back by Nigerian forces in 2015.

However, the terrorist group has continued to carry out attacks and kidnappings near the town. It frequently uses women and younger people as bombers in the attack.

The group also uses female suicide bombers with babies to avoid detection before carrying out attacks.

Some of the women and children carrying out suicide attacks are believed to be among the many thousands kidnapped by the group over the years.

Militants have killed thousands, displaced millions, and continue to carry out deadly attacks against civilians, despite the Nigerian military’s claims that the insurgency has weakened.

Additional reporting with agencies