Suicide bomber kills six in mosque in northeast Nigeria: army
Nigeria’s army has retaken over the past year most of the territory lost to Boko Haram
A suicide bomber killed six people inside a mosque in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state at dawn on Friday, an army spokesman said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in the town of Damboa but it bore the hallmarks of Islamist Boko Haram militants, who have waged an insurgency since 2009 to carve out a state based on sharia (Islamic law) in the northeast of Africa’s most populous country.
Army spokesman Sani Usman said there were two suicide bombers involved, one of whom failed to gain entry to the Damboa Central Mosque and detonated his load in the street outside, killing himself but causing no other casualties.
He said the second militant managed to get into a smaller mosque nearby and blew himself up there, killing six worshippers and wounding one other person.
Earlier, a military source who did not want to be named said nine people were killed and 13 others injured in the 5:15 a.m. attack.
Damboa, 87 km south of the Borno capital Maiduguri, was the first town captured by Boko Haram, in July 2014. Security forces ousted the militants two months later.
Nigeria’s army, aided by troops from adjacent countries, has retaken over the past year most of the territory lost to Boko Haram. But the militant group, which last year pledged loyalty to ISIS, still regularly stages suicide bombings.
The insurgency has killed more than 15,000 people and displaced two million others.
-
White House: Nigeria making progress in combating Boko Haram
The U.S. has assisted Nigerian authorities working to secure the release of schoolgirls kidnapped by the militants North Africa -
Morocco first to qualify for African Cup as Nigeria misses out
Egypt is on the brink of making it to Gabon and its first Cup of Nations since 2010 following a 1-0 home win over Nigeria Sports -
Nigeria eliminated by Egypt from Africa Cup of Nations
Nigeria crashed out of contention to reach the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon after they lost 1-0 to Egypt Sports -
First win for Ivory Coast, Egypt snatch late equalizer
Ivory Coast claimed their first victory in 2017 African Nations Cup qualifying by beating Sudan 1-0, while Egypt salvaged a last-gasp 1-1 draw in Nigeria Sports