Twenty persons, including a female suicide bomber were killed in a major market in Maiduguri, the capital of the troubled Borno State following an attack by the Boko Haram sect on Saturday
The female bomber was reportedly a 10-year-old girl. The incident also left 18 persons injured, the Police Public Relations officer of the Borno State Police Command, Gideon Jubrin, has confirmed.
He said the incident occurred at about 12:30pm at a section of the market.
Also, the spokesman of the National Emergency Management Authority, AbdulKadir Ibrahim, said workers from the agency were at the market to help those injured in the blast.
The attack was at the Yen-Kaji area of the market where chickens are sold. The section was immediately cordoned off by the military as tension rose in the troubled town.
Red Cross officials were seen conveying injured persons to the hospital.
Meanwhile, scores of people were killed in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State late Friday night as members of the sect attacked the town.
The Executive Director of Stefanos Foundation, Mr. Mark Lipdo, quoting military sources in the state, said the militants launched an attack on the city around 8 pm.
The attack came few hours after military authorities said they had launched a war to take over Baga from the militants.
Amnesty International had said the attack on Baga by the sect remained the deadliest in the history of Boko Haram’s over five-year reign of terror in the North-East as no fewer than 2,000 people were feared killed in the incident.
The attack on Damaturu also came on the heels of a similar attack on Gwoza in Borno State the day before. Boko Haram was reported to have pulled down houses of the minority ethnic and religious people and Church buildings in Gwoza Local Government Area. They were said to have also succeeded in pulling down COCIN Church building and other places of worship around the area.
In a related development, two persons were on Saturday killed in a bomb blast at the Polistum Divisional Police Station in Yobe State.
Meanwhile, no fewer than 200 Boko Haram members were killed by troops at Askira Uba, a border town between Adamawa and Borno states on Saturday.
The insurgents, it was gathered, were trying to penetrate Damaturu, Adamawa State, through the town but were killed by the troops who were stationed in the area during a gun battle.
The terrorists had earlier attempted to storm Damaturu on Friday, but were repelled by the military, during an operation that lasted for several hours.
Our correspondent further learnt that the community leaders in the area have enlisted the help of local hunters and vigilance groups to assist the military to counter attacks by the terrorists.
The Director, Defence Information, Maj.Gen. Chris Olukolade could not be reached for comments on Saturday.
Also, the United Nations refugee agency has stated that 7,300 Nigerian refugees have arrived in western Chad in the past 10 days, fleeing attacks by insurgents on Baga town and surrounding villages.
The UN spokesperson, Adrian Edwards, said the agency’s teams in Chad were at the border and seeking more information on the new arrivals and their needs.
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