Three persons killed in suicide attack

Three persons died in an attempted suicide attack on Maiduguri, the troubled capital of Borno State, on Tuesday night. The Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 7 Division Maiduguri, Colonel Tukur Gusau, who confirmed the attack to journalists on the telephone on Wednesday, could not however give the number of casualties. Gusau called on the members of the public to be extra-vigilant and appealed that they support the military in its effort at ending the insurgency, noting that normalcy had since returned to the area. Habuya Mahmud, who is the commander of the youth vigilance group in Gomari airport ward, told our correspondent that the incident happened at a checkpoint after the Maiduguri airport junction, on Kano-Jos road. According to him, two male suicide bombers approached the checkpoint few minutes after the start of 9:30pm curfew which is enforced on the state capital because of the insurgency. Mahmud, who claimed that he witnessed the attack and equally participated in the rescue efforts, said the attackers approached the checkpoint from the opposite direction and the guard commander, an Air Force sergeant, told them to stop. He told them to move closer with raised arms, but “as they got closer enough to him, they detonated the explosives strapped on them, which resulted in their death and the Air Force personnel.” Mahmud said a woman who was passing by at that time was injured. She was rushed to the Umaru Shehu Hospital at Bulumkuttu.The Borno State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aderemi Opadokun, confirmed the attack. In a text message to our correspondent’s enquiry, Opadokun said: “Yes, there was explosion at about 2210hrs yesterday 25/8/15 near troops on guard location by airport roundabout along Maiduguri/ Damaturu Highway when two suicide bombers on foot detonated IEDs strapped on their bodies during questioning, killing themselves and one security personnel.” He added, “Scene was visited to comb and render the area safe and that the casualties have been evacuated to the mortuary.” He further said that investigation was in progress. Meanwhile, over 5,000 starving people have been liberated from communities in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State, Mohammed Kanar, the zonal coordinator of National Emergency Management Agency told our correspondent in Maiduguri. Kanar said the recent military operation in Gamboru/Ngala freed the people who were previously cut off from civilization and the rest of the world. The humanitarian worker said the people were virtually imprisoned in their communities as the routes to major towns were blocked by members of the insurgency group, Boko Haram, who have captured major towns of Dikwa and Ngala. He said they were living on small rations as they were compelled to depend on their livestock and farm produce without allowance for trading and commerce with the rest of the world.

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