Female suicide bombers cause heavy casualties in NE Nigeria village

KANO, Nigeria: Several female suicide bombers blew themselves up in the midst of fleeing residents in a northeast Nigerian village, continuing a series of attacks that have killed some 200 people in just three days, witnesses said on Saturday.
The latest attack took place on Friday night in Zabarmari village, 10 kilometres from the city of Maiduguri, birthplace of the Jihadist group.
Local resident Haladu Musa, who fled the attack to Maiduguri, told AFP that “large numbers” of fighters poured into the village, overpowering government forces deployed to prevent the insurgents reaching Maiduguri.
“The soldiers were forced to retreat,” he said.
Then, as people began to flee, female suicide bombers started blowing themselves up in their midst, killing large numbers of people, he said.
“Most of the casualties came from the suicide bombings,” he said, without being able to give a precise figure for the dead and injured.
Musa said the militants looted shops and torched “almost half the village” before eventually being repulsed after the military sent in reinforcements.
Danlami Ajaokuta, a civilian vigilante helping the military battle Boko Haram and who also witnessed the attack, spoke of heavy casualties.
“The main concern now is to evacuate and attend to the injured and later recover the dead bodies now lying in the village,” he said, adding that more than 100 people had been hospitalised with injuries.
Boko Haram, which is fighting to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria and has sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group, has intensified its campaign of violence since President Mohammadu Buhari came to power on May 29.