ICC Note: Islamist extremist group Boko Haram is the prime suspect in a series of suicide attacks which rocked the city of Damaturu, Nigeria in the Yobe state. At least 14 are presumed dead in three attacks which occurred at a small food store, outside of a nearby mosque. and a Fulani settlement outside of the city. The Nigerian state of Yobe has seen similar attacks in the past as a young girl, possibly 12, killed 6 and injured 47 when were improvised explosive went off outside a bust station one month ago. Boko Haram continues to target Christian communities with extreme violence through murder, rape, and kidnapping.
By AFP
10/07/2015 Damaturu, Nigeria (The Guardian) – At least 14 people were killed in three separate suicide bomb attacks in Damaturu, northeast Nigeria, on Wednesday, the country’s National Emergency Management Agency said.
The blasts came after Boko Haram militants this week claimed to have carried out three suicide attacks on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, last Friday that left 18 dead and 41 injured.
Suspicion will likely fall on the Islamist rebels, who have repeatedly attacked Damaturu during their bloody, six-year insurgency.
Last month, a girl thought to be aged 12 killed six and injured 47 when the explosives she was carrying went off outside a bus station in the Yobe state capital.
NEMA coordinator for Yobe state Bashir Idris Garga said the first blast happened at a small food store at a housing estate, killing four.
Another near a mosque killed one, while nine, including a family, lost their lives when another bomber exploded at a Fulani settlement on the outskirts of the city.
“Total injured 10, seven partially injured and three critically injured,” Garga said in a text message.
Boko Haram has reverted to attacking “soft” civilian targets after last year’s land grab that saw it seize towns and villages across Yobe and neighbouring Borno and Adamawa states.
