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Bombs hit wedding, hospital and funeral, authorities say
Three bomb explosions in a town in eastern Nigeria killed at least 18 people and seriously injured 48, local authorities said.
The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said in a statement on Sunday that the first blast occurred among a crowd attending a wedding in Gwoza, near the Cameroon border. Police said a woman “Detonated a homemade explosive device in a crowded parking lot.” She also added that she was seen carrying a baby on her back.
Minutes later, a second blast occurred at a hospital in Govoza, the news agency said, and a third blast – also caused by a suicide bomber – occurred at a funeral.
The fatalities included several children and 48 people were seriously injured, SEMA said, adding that the injured were receiving all necessary medical treatment.
AFP quoted a member of a local militia as saying two of his colleagues and a soldier were killed in another attack on a security post, but the claim has not been confirmed by authorities.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack and stressed that he and his government “Take necessary measures to ensure the safety of citizens” And vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. No organization has claimed responsibility for the incident yet.
Nigeria has been a hotbed of terrorism for years, with frequent attacks by the Islamic State of West Africa and Boko Haram, which launched an armed insurgency in 2009 in an attempt to establish an Islamic state in the region, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing millions.
Although former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said in 2019 that Boko Haram had been defeated, the group continues to frequently target civilians and security personnel. In late 2023, the group killed about 40 villagers in two attacks in the country’s northeast.
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