Eight people were killed when a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives among women and children arriving in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri as they fled Boko Haram violence in the countryside.
Mohammed Kanar, a local co-ordinator for the National Emergency Management Agency, said the blast happened on Sunday morning (local time) as the group arrived from Dikwa, 90 kilometres to the northeast.
The restive city of Maiduguri has repeatedly been attacked by Boko Haram and the latest bloodshed again underlines the threat posed by the Islamist group, which has been launching guerilla-style attacks since being pushed out of its captured territory and camps by a Nigerian army offensive.
Kanar said the bomber in Sunday's attack was aged about 20 and struck as the group reached a checkpoint on the outskirts of Maiduguri.
"The IDPs (interally displaced persons), mostly women and children, were stopped for security checks at the checkpoint when the bomber, disguised as an IDP, sneaked in amongst them before setting off her explosives," he said.
"Eight people were killed and seven others were injured in the incident."
There has been a wave of suicide and home-made bomb attacks against civilians in urban areas recently, particularly Maiduguri, which in October alone was hit six times, killing at least 54 people.
On Saturday, four teenage girls blew themselves up in a village near Fotokol, in Cameroon's far north region near the border with Nigeria, killing five, including a traditional chief.
AFP
