15 killed in suicide bomb attack in northeast Nigeria

Suspected suicide bombers killed at least 15 people and injured 26 others on Monday in northeast Nigeria’s state of Borno, epicentre of the Islamist militant Boko Haram insurgency, the chairman of the local emergency agency said.

The attacks are the latest in a series of bombings in the restive northeast that have killed at least 200 people since June 1, according to a Reuters tally.

“Three suicide bomber infiltrated a settlement called Mashimari, in Konduga Local Government,” said Ahmed Satomi, chairman of Borno’s State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA). The area is around 35 kilometres southeast of the state capital, Maiduguri.

Another SEMA official said the suicide bombers joined a gathering of farmers in Mashimari before detonating their devices around 11:45 a.m. (1045 GMT) as they mingled with the group.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the use of suicide bombers is a hallmark of Boko Haram.

Boko Haram, which is trying to create an Islamic state in the Lake Chad region that includes northeast Nigeria, has killed more than 20,000 people and caused over two million to flee their homes since 2009.

Reuters