Two suicide bombers killed a soldier at a checkpoint in Boko Haram's
heartland in northeastern Nigeria, vigilantes helping troops in the
fight against the jihadists told AFP on Wednesday.
The militants, a
man and a woman, were in a motorised rickshaw stopped by a soldier on
the outskirts of Borno state capital Maiduguri around 22:30 on Tuesday,
an hour into the area's night-time curfew.
"When they realised
their cover was about to be blown they detonated the explosives they
were carrying in the rickshaw, killing the soldier and themselves,"
vigilante Babakura Kolo told AFP.
"It was evident they were on
their way to launch suicide attacks somewhere in the city but
fortunately ran into a checkpoint," he said.
Another
vigilante, Umar Bulunkutu, said the soldiers' suspicion was raised by
the woman in the back seat, because "women are the ones Boko Haram uses
for suicide attacks".
Night curfew
"The
soldiers wanted to know where they were going and why they were outside
at that hour when all residents of the city were indoors in compliance
with the curfew," he said.
The vigilantes, who share information
with the military, were clear when questioned by AFP that the occupants
of the rickshaw were together and were both bombers.
Maiduguri has been under night curfew for some two years as part of security measures to curb deadly attacks in the city.
Hours
earlier a girl believed to be as young as 12 killed six people and
injured 47 when she detonated explosives outside a bus station in
Damaturu, the capital of neighbouring Yobe state.
Boko Haram has
stepped up its attacks since Nigeria's new President Muhammadu Buhari
was sworn in on May 29, vowing to crush the insurgency.
The wave
of violence since the inauguration has claimed more than 1,000 lives,
dealing a setback to a four-country offensive launched in February that
had chalked up a number of victories against the hardline Islamists.
An
8 700-strong Multi-National Joint Task Force, drawing in Nigeria,
Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, is expected to deploy against the
insurgents soon.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Suicide bombers kill soldier in NE Nigeria - vigilantes
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