MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) – Twin explosions from female suicide bombers suspected to be with Boko Haram killed nine people and injured 24 in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri on Saturday morning, officials and witnesses said.
The first explosion came when two of the bombers tried to enter a camp holding more than 16,000 refugees from Boko Haram’s Islamic uprising at around 7 a.m. (0600 GMT), according to civilian self-defense fighter Dan Batta.
The military said there was only one attacker. “A suspected female suicide bomber ran into a group of men and women at the entrance while they were coming out of the camp, killing five men and injuring 11 women,” said a statement from military spokesman Col. Mustapha Anka.
Inuwe Sula, who lives nearby, said he saw six bodies evacuated and several wounded survivors “drenched with blood.”
The second blast came half an hour later and about a kilometer away when a tricycle taxi carrying two passengers exploded outside a gas station, Anka said. The bomber was driving the taxi and following a fuel tanker “with the sole aim of gaining entry to cause maximum damage and casualty.”