LAGOS
Suspected Boko Haram militants on Thursday bombed a small bridge linking Nigeria to Cameroon, with eyewitnesses saying at least 30 people have died from the explosion.
" No less than 30 people died in the explosion. The place is now deserted," local resident Kadiri Omar from Gamboru in Borno State told Anadolu Agency. "The bridge is just on the outskirt of Gamboru Ngala town where hundreds were killed on Monday night," he added.
"That is the bridge that links the immigration check post of both countries," he added.
Gamboru Ngala, a Nigeria-Cameroon border settlement that is 200kms from Maiduguri, the provincial capital of the restive Borno State, came under attack earlier this week by suspected Boko Haram militants, who allegedly killed over 200 people in the assault.
A military source at the border confirmed the bombing of the bridge.
"They bombed the bridge late this afternoon. I understand that many people have died, some saying up to 30. Soldiers are now in the area," the source told AA on the condition of anonymity.
Nigerian Defense spokesman Chris Olukolade did not reply to the text messages AA reporter sent him for comment on the reported incident.
The attacks come as Nigerian forces are still trying to trace scores of schoolgirls abducted last month by the Boko Haram militant group from the Government Girls Secondary School in Borno's Chibok area last month.
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden" in Nigeria's local Hausa language, first emerged in the early 2000s preaching against government misrule and corruption.
The group later became violent, however, after the death of its leader in 2009 while in police custody.
In the five years since, the shadowy sect has been blamed for numerous attacks – on places of worship and government institutions – and thousands of deaths.
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