Triple Suicide Attacks In Chibok Town Claims 13 Lives
At least 13 people
were killed on Wednesday when three suicide bombers blew themselves up in the
northeast Nigerian town of Chibok
The blasts happened at about midday (1100 GMT) as the
remote town in Borno state was packed with traders from surrounding villages
for the weekly market, Chibok elder Ayuba Chibok told AFP.
“Ten died on the spot and another one died on the way to
hospital,” said health worker Dazzban Buba, who volunteered to treat the
injured at hospital.
“A woman and a child died as they were being admitted (to
hospital), so now the death toll stands at 13. Thirty others were injured, 21
critically.”
The blasts bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which has
repeatedly hit “soft” civilian targets such as markets, mosques and bus
stations as well as military and civilian vigilante checkpoints.
Chibok came to prominence in April 2014 when Islamist
fighters stormed a boarding school and kidnapped 276 girls, causing global
outrage.
Fifty-seven girls managed to escape in the immediate
aftermath but 219 are still being held and have not been seen since they
appeared in a Boko Haram video in May that year.
Chibok was briefly overrun by the Islamic State
group-allied rebels in November 2014 but recaptured by the military after
several days.
Ayuba Chibok and Buba both said Wednesday’s blasts were
suicide attacks and had prompted terrified residents to lock themselves inside
their homes or flee in fear of repeat attacks.
Buba said the first explosion, at a checkpoint where
people coming into the town were being searched, was thought to have been
carried out by a young boy.
But identifying the attacker’s age was difficult, as only
his legs were recovered.
The second, at the market, and a third nearby were
carried out by women, he added.
– Lull in attacks –
Buba said he rushed to help his brother who was injured
in the first blast in the Bamzir
Road
The second blast happened shortly afterwards, fitting a
pattern of Boko Haram suicide attacks with multiple bombers setting off their
devices almost simultaneously.
But Buba said it was still unclear whether the third
bomber deliberately detonated her explosives or whether the device was
triggered when troops opened fire as he fled.
The 30 injured were mostly suffering from burns and
fractures, and that nine had been discharged, he added.
Check the Daily
Independent newspaper for the full story.
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