Nigeria: Suicide attacks target mosques, 14 dead
According to the police, suspected suicide attacks have targeted two mosques in Nigeria's northeast Borno state
LAGOS, Nigeria
At least 14 people were killed in suspected suicide bomb attacks targeting two mosques in Nigeria's northeast Borno State Thursday night, a police spokesman said on Friday morning.
The attacks took place in the state's Mulai suburb of Maiduguri.
"There were twin suicide attacks yesterday night. One occurred inside a mosque and another one went off just within minutes in the vicinity of another mosque in the same area. In all, 14 individuals died while a few others got injured," police spokesman for Borno, Victor Isuku, told Anadolu Agency via phone.
But civilian vigilante sources said that the death toll was higher, with one estimating that 27 people died. "We have evacuated at least 27 bodies to morgues in the town following the blast," Baba Shehu, a spokesman for the local vigilante network, said.
Another suicide bomber struck in Nigeria's Mulai village early Friday, killing at least four persons and injuring nine others, local vigilante spokesman said.
"Four persons were killed in another blast this morning. The scene of the latest suicide attack was just a few kilometers away from the mosques that were bombed on Thursday night. Today's blast occurred behind Mulai (general) hospital," Abdullahi Umaru, a member of the vigilante network at an area called Sector 7, told AA.
Police did not comment on the latest Friday incident.
On September 21, at least 54 civilians were killed while over 90 were injured in multiple blasts at Ajilari Crossing within the Maiduguri metropolis, a few kilometers away from the scene of the latest explosions.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday that he was certain that the army would crush the Boko Haram insurgency by December, calling on the international community to back words with action regarding the anti-terrorism campaign.
Also, Washington has reportedly approved the sending of drones and some military personnel to Cameroon to help the country in its fight against Boko Haram.
While Boko Haram says it wants to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, the group is despised by most Nigerian Muslims who view its violent activities – which include frequent attacks on civilian targets – as entirely un-Islamic.
