A series of blasts carried out by suspected female suicide bombers resulted in the deaths of at least 18 people and left dozens injured in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State. The attacks targeted a wedding, a hospital, and a funeral in the town of Gwoza, which lies near the border with Cameroon.
According to Borno State police spokesman Nahum Kenneth Daso, three blasts occurred on Saturday. In one of the attacks, a woman carrying a baby on her back detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) at a crowded motor park around 15:45 (2.45pm). The same group of suicide bombers also targeted a hospital in Gwoza. Later, another attack took place at the funeral of victims of the initial wedding blast.
Agency head Barkindo Saidu reported that the death toll includes children, men, females, and pregnant women. Nineteen seriously injured individuals were transported to the regional capital, Maiduguri, while 23 others awaited evacuation.
A local militia member assisting the military revealed that two colleagues and a soldier were killed in a separate attack on a security post. However, authorities have not yet confirmed these additional deaths.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), remain active in Borno. Despite the Nigerian military’s efforts to degrade their capabilities, these armed groups continue to carry out deadly attacks against civilians and security targets.
Gwoza, a town scarred by 15 years of violence, was seized by Boko Haram in 2014. Although it was later retaken by the Nigerian military with assistance from Chadian forces in 2015, the group persists in launching attacks from nearby mountains.
The conflict in Nigeria’s northeast has claimed over 40,000 lives and displaced approximately two million people. The violence has also spilt over into neighbouring Niger, Cameroon, and Chad, prompting the formation of a regional military coalition to combat the armed groups.
