Suicide bomb attack kills 3 in Nigeria

KANO: Three people died and more than 30 injured in a twin suicide blast in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, militia sources and residents said on Sunday.

Two female bombers late Saturday detonated their explosives among a crowd in Muna Dalti on the outskirts of the city, the birthplace of the Boko Haram militant group.

“They came around 8:00pm (1900 GMT) and detonated their suicide vests,” Umar Ari, a local militia leader, said.

“They killed three people and seriously injured 33 others,” said Ari, who was involved in the evacuation of victims.

Residents gathered on Sunday morning for the funeral of the three victims.

The scene of the bombings, a popular night time venue for residents, has been repeatedly targeted by Boko Haram suicide attacks, said resident Gremah Umar.

The area houses a sprawling camp for thousands of people displaced by Boko Haram violence.

The attacks there were largely blamed on the Boko Haram faction loyal to longtime leader Abubakar Shekau, notorious for suicide attacks on civilian targets including schools, mosques and motor parks.

Another faction affiliated to the Daesh focuses on attacks against military targets.

Boko Haram’s decade-long violence has killed 27,000 people in the northeast and displaced another 1.8 million from their homes, creating a dire humanitarian crisis.

The conflict has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military response to combat the militant group.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has suspended mining in the restive northwestern state of Zamfara, a presidential aide and the police chief said on Sunday, amid concerns that illegal miners were connected to a surge in banditry.

The suspension underscores the breakdown of security in a part of the country where the military, police and state security forces have been deployed in recent weeks to tackle criminal gangs behind a spate of killings and kidnappings.

“The federal government has ordered the suspension of all mining activities in Zamfara State with immediate effect,” said presidential aide Bashir Ahmed in a tweet.

Agencies