28 killed, 83 wounded as Boko Haram strikes in Borno

A woman suicide bomber blew herself up and killed 27 others at a market in Borno State, on Tuesday, two local officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

Two more suicide bombers detonated their devices at the gates to a nearby refugee camp, wounding many people, an emergency services official said.

According to Reuters, in all, 83 people were wounded in the three explosions near Maiduguri, the state capital.

In a related development, suspected members of the Boko Haram, on Monday night, attacked two Adamawa communities.

This was as the residents fled as the terrorists attacked their communities, Nyibango and Muduhu, both in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

The attacks came a few days after a similar incident in a neighbouring Mildu village in the same local government, where no fewer than seven persons were killed in the Mildu attack.

Speaking on the Monday attack, chairman of Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Yusuf Muhammed, said the attack lasted nearly two hours.

He said the terrorists burnt many houses and looted foodstuffs.

“They looted foodstuffs, killed livestock and burnt the villages completely, including churches and the residence of one councillor, John Hammajam,” he said.

Mr Muhammed said the exact number of dead and injured people were yet to be ascertained, adding that villagers who escaped the attack had fled the area.

A fleeing resident, Hamma Adamu, also said the terrorists shot sporadically and razed houses and places of worships.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has launched a new mobile strike team aimed at reduction of ambushes and sudden deaths of their personnel.

Launching the outfit on Tuesday at the Marmalari Barracks, Theatre Commander, Major-General Ibrahim Attahiru, said the outfit was made up of selected forces with mixed equipment and platforms to achieve the conduct of long-range patrols deep into the Sambisa forest.

He said the mobile strike forces would equally be used to stop the frequent spates of ambushes that have been affecting personnel in the theatre.

General Attahiru revealed that the group of almost 2,000 soldiers were trained to enhance operational efficiency in the theatre, considering the recent upsurge of suicide bombings and ambushes which had led to unecessary loss of inadequate personnel.