Suicide bombers kill two, injure four in Maiduguri

Six die, 41 wounded in Yobe twin blasts 

TWO suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers attacked the Maiduguri military post, near Gomari Airport roundabout in Borno State, killing themselves, a soldier, resident and injuring four others.

A member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), Kaka Modu, disclosed that the bombers were riding a tricycle at about 10.30p.m on Tuesday after the curfew had started and they were ordered to stop at the military post.

According to him, “after the suicide bombers had alighted, they were asked to come closer and identify themselves. Unfortunately, when they approached the soldier and some civilian JTF members, one of them detonated Improvised Explosive Devices strapped to his body, killing themselves and a soldier.”

Confirming the incident, the Borno State Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Opadokun, said yesterday that the explosives were detonated along the Maiduguri-Damaturu Highway, adding that the bodies had already been taken to the morgue. “There was an explosion at about 22.10 hours on Tuesday near the Airport Roundabout, along Maiduguri-Damaturu Highway,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted Opadokun to say.

Two suspected suicide bombers on foot detonated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strapped on their bodies, according to our investigation. “The bombers killed themselves and a security personnel during the incident. The police has visited and combed the area to ensure that the place is safe.”

Another youth vigilance member who claimed to witness the incident, told journalists on condition of anonymity that the soldiers at the checkpoint had suspected and summoned the tricycle riders and asked them to raise their hands, adding that one complied while the other didn’t. “We all watched them from a little distance as they inched closer to the soldiers.

Then suddenly the bombs went off in thunderous explosion, which instantly killed them and a Flight Lieutenant, who was sitting on the highway median.”

According to him, the officer had intercepted and was chatting with a young lady who was trekking along minutes before the blast, adding that he was hit by a metal, which killed him instantly, while the lady sustained serious injury.

Similarly, two suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers attacked the Damaturu Central Motor Park and Pompomari ward respectively with strapped Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on Wednesday, killing six persons, including themselves, the Yobe State Police Command has said.

The male suspect, according to a Pompomari resident, Modu Bukar, blew up himself while fleeing arrest by security personnel in a nearby bush. The Police spokesman, Toyin Gbadegeshin, said the blasts occurred simultaneously at about 7.35a.m.

The 12-year-old female suspect, he added, detonated the explosives strapped on her body at the gate of the motor park, killing four people and herself, “while the other suspect, a male, was pursued by security personnel into the Pompomari bush, where he blew up himself.”

According to him, “the girl was accosted by those manning the entrance to the motor park and while they were trying to search her, she detonated the strapped explosives, which had a major impact on an already loaded bus that was taking off to a destination. “The motor park blast killed four persons instantly, including a pregnant woman and nine-month old baby, and injured 41 others, six of whom were in critical condition.”

Of the Pompomari bye-pass explosion, Gbadegeshin said a naive boy was the courier and was accosted by a man who suspected that he might be carrying an explosive. The injured, he said, have been evacuated to hospitals in the area.

The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and hospital staff rescue teams have evacuated the bodies.