Boko Haram extremists are believed to have struck a town and a city in north-east Nigeria on Monday with rocket-propelled grenades and multiple suicide bombers. At least 80 people are feared to be dead, though an official toll has not been declared yet.
More than 90 were wounded and 30 killed in overnight blasts in the city of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, AP reported. Another 20 were killed in a blast near a mosque early on Monday, said Muhammed Kanar, area coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency. Two young suicide bombers were also believed to have detonated their vests in another neighbourhood in the city.
Madagali, a town 150 kilometres south-east of Maiduguri also faced twin suicide bombings, which might have left 30 people dead. Two women were believed to have blown themselves up near a busy bus station at 9 am on Monday morning, with local officials confirming the attack, but not disclosing the number of casualties.
Maiduguri hosts almost a million refugees (pictured above) who had fled from their homes around the country after the Boko Haram started its militant operations six years ago. “We are under siege," said civil servant Yunusa Abdullahi. Maiduguri is the birthplace of Boko Haram. Officials at the Maiduguri hospital said they were tending to dozens of injured people and were unable to ascertain the number of deaths because many bodies had been blown into pieces.
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