Eight feared dead as suicide bombers attack Maiduguri

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At least eight persons were feared killed and about 30 others injured on Sunday when suicide bombers carried out multiple attacks at a crowded location in Dalori, a suburb of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. The attacks occurred at about 10 p.m. with thundering sounds from the blasts echoing into the city as majority Muslim residents began to retire after observing the day’s Ramadan night prayers.

Authorities have not issued any statement on the attack, even as witnesses, mostly members of the Civilian-JTF, said the assault had caused some substantial casualties. A soldier, who was among those that visited the site shortly after the blasts occurred, informed journalists on condition of anonymity that “about 8 persons were dead and over 30 people got injured.” The casualty figures have, however, not been officially confirmed.

The blasts came few hours after an unconfirmed report filtered into the town that soldiers ran into a Boko Haram ambush along Damboa-Maiduguri road during which three of them were feared dead. The military has not issued any statement on the reported ambush. The Boko Haram insurgency has caused about 100,000 deaths since 2009 and have continued despite the insurgents losing most of the territory they once controlled to soldiers.