MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Female suicide bombers have attacked a wedding, a funeral and a hospital in northern Nigeria, killing at least 18 people, local authorities said Sunday.
The first bomber exploded during a wedding party in the northeastern town of Gwoza, Barkindo Saidu, director-general of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, told reporters.
“A few minutes later, another explosion occurred near the General Hospital,” Saidu said, adding that the third bomber at the funeral was disguised as a mourner. Children and pregnant women were among the dead. At least 30 others were wounded, and Saidu said injuries included abdominal and skull fractures.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. Borno state has been hit hard by the insurgency launched in 2009 by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.
In the past, Boko Haram has used women and girls in suicide attacks. This raises suspicions that some of the perpetrators are among the thousands of people the extremists have kidnapped over the years, including schoolchildren.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu called the attacks “desperate acts of terror” and “an isolated episode” in a statement.
The insurgency, which has spread across the borders around Lake Chad, has killed more than 35,000 people, displaced more than 2.6 million people and created a massive humanitarian crisis.
Boko Haram, one branch of which is affiliated with the Islamic State, wants to install an Islamic state in Nigeria, West Africa’s oil giant with a population of 170 million that is almost evenly divided between a predominantly Christian south and a predominantly Muslim north.
The resurgence of suicide bombings in Borno has raised serious concerns about the security situation in the region.
Authorities have imposed a curfew in the town. Gwoza is a few kilometres from Chibok, where 276 schoolgirls were abducted in 2014. Nearly 100 of the girls remain in captivity.
Since then, at least 1,500 students have been kidnapped across Nigeria. Armed groups see this as a lucrative way to finance their criminal activities and take control of villages.
