Triple suicide blasts rock Nigerian town Chibok
January 27, 2016
Three suicide bombers on Wednesday blew themselves up in the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 30.
"Two veiled girls suspected to be suicide bombers entered Chibok market at about 12:54 pm today," a police official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters news agency. "Afterwards we heard an explosion at the heart of the market and people fled. Some minutes later another blast came just at the edge of the market."
Nigeria's official National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said reports of the bomb blasts had not yet been verified.
"Reports says the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers, but this has not been independently verified," said NEMA in a tweet.
While the Nigerian military did not comment on the attacks, its press office on Wednesday issued a warning immediately after, urging citizens to be "security conscious."
"In view of the recent bomb blast incidence on soft target areas, citizens are hereby reminded of the need to be more security conscious. The lives of every citizen mean a lot to our great nation and it is expedient for everyone to be at alert [sic] and sensitive to their environment," the statement said.
Boko Haram threat?
No one claimed responsibility for the assault. However, the attacks were carried out in different locations of the town and involved multiple suicide bombers, a strategy reminiscent of the Boko Haram militant group, according to local media.
In 2014, Boko Haram militants stormed a boarding school in Chibok, and kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in an incident that caused global outrage.
At least 57 girls escaped captivity following the incident. The 219 still held hostage by the militant group were last seen in a video released in May 2014.
'A sad day'
Aisha Yesufu, a Nigerian activist who spearheaded the "Bring Back Our Girls" movement in response to the kidnappings, extended her condolences to those killed in Wednesday's attack.
Last month, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced that Boko Haram had been "technically" defeated despite ongoing operations claimed by the group, in line with a similar statement he gve to DW in October 2015.
ls/msh (Reuters, AFP)