Many killed in suicide attack in Nigeria
October 23, 2015
The suicide bomber walked into the Subhi Mosque in the Nigerian town of Maiduguri at around 5 a.m. on Friday, and detonated the explosives in the middle of worshipers, a witness told DPA news agency.
Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) stated that six people were killed in the attack and at least 17 injured.
A self-defense fighter present at the scene told AP on condition of anonymity that at least 18 people were killed in the crowded mosque. He was among those who removed bodies while troops cordoned off the zone.
The attack on the mosque "was carried out by a suspected lone suicide bomber whose two accomplices escaped, when some vigilant members of the community accosted them," NEMA stated.
This is the latest attack in a string of suicide bombings blamed on Boko Haram extremists who have indiscriminately killed Christians and Muslims they accuse of not following their radical version of Islamic law.
Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) and seeks to create an Islamic caliphate on swathes of West Africa that sprawl across Nigeria's border into neighboring Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
Boko Haram's uprising killed about 20,000 people and forced 2.3 million from their homes.
In the past weeks, suicide bombers suspected to be members of Boko Haram killed scores of worshipers in attacks in Maiduguri.
The terrorists have increased the frequency of their attacks since Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in May.
das/rc (AFP, AP, dpa)