Disguised women bombers kill scores in market attack. 98 injured - TopicsExpress



          

Disguised women bombers kill scores in market attack. 98 injured in blasts It’s wicked, says Governor Shettima Scores of people – a figure put at between 45 and 67 – were yesterday killed in a Maiduguri, Borno State capital market after two explosions. There were about 98 injured; about 30 shops and stalls destroyed and at least 25 vehicles razed. Two women suicide bombers hit a densely populated line in the Monday market. Two bombs were detonated, the first one at about 11.20am and the second at about noon by women in hijab, disguising as mothers. As people gathered to assess the impact of the first blast, a second bomb was detonated by a woman who concealed explosives under her “ hijab and strapped to her back”, pretending to be carrying a baby, witnesses said. “The woman wrapped the explosives on her back, just like a baby and manoeuvred her way to the scene of the earlier explosion,” market merchant Abubakar Bello told French News Agency (AFP), whose account was supported by three other people “While the people were trying to help the injured, the second bomb blasted,” another witness, Sani Adamu, told Reuters. Health worker Dogara Shehu said he counted more than “45 people killed, some of them completely decapitated” in an account backed up by a witness, who declined to give his name. Another eye witness, Ali Zanna Kumalia, a traders told our correspondent that “ around 12 noon while people were carrying out their normal businesses at the famous Monday market, there was a blast, killing many traders. Some of the dead and injured were evacuated to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) and the Maiduguri General Hospital. Soldiers came to the scene later and started shooting in the air to disperse people. Coordinator of Civilian-JTF Abba Aji Kalli told reporters in Maiduguri on telephone: “I am right here at the scene and I have before me 11 bodies yet to be evacuated. Many bodies have been taken away by relatives while others have been taken to the hospital.” “We have many people that are seriously injured after the explosions,”, Kalli said. “From what one of the survivors told me while being helped to get to the hospital, the bombers were two girls dressed in full hijab. One of them detonated herself and about three persons; all women were killed. Minutes after that when people came round to see what happened, another bomb went off after a girl screamed and many people, over 30 of them, got killed. We cannot say the exact figure for now because even before our arrival here some of the bodies had been taken away. Some, including those of the bombers, were mangled beyond recognition,” Kali said. Abba Modu one of the traders who survived, said: “I was about 50 metres away from my shop when I heard the loud blast. I thank God for my life. It was just a little delay at home that saved my life. “I had to join people to help the injured. I must say that it was not easy doing the job.” A spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed that “many people have been killed” but did not have an official death toll. Neither the police nor the JTF issued a statement. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. But it bears the imprint of Boko Haram, which is pursuing its plan to create a caliphate in the Northeast. This is the first blast in Maiduguri metropolis since July 2, when a car laden with explosives was detonated not far from this area, killing 56 people, including traders. The Borno State government said 54 people were admitted at the State Specialist Hospital, 14 of them critically injured. Twenty were discharged. Executive Secretary Hospital management Board, Dr Salisu Kwaya Bura, told Governor Kashim Shettima when he visited the victims at the hospital. He said: “Out of this number, 14 who were critically injured have been referred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) for proper treatment while 20 have been discharged.” Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Alhaji Sandar said 24 bodies were brought to the hospital but hospital sources said casualty was higher as some bodies were burnt beyond recognition. Governor Shettima described the bombers as “wicked”, questioning “why would they choose the poor traders and children as targets”. A source from the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) who pleaded anonymity said over 40 bodies were brought to the hospital. He said ambulances were also seen conveying the injured ones, with relations and friends running up and down in search of their loved one who left for the market in the morning. The Borno Police confirmed the explosion. Its spokesman Gideon Jubrin said the casualty figures were not available as at the time of the interview. “We are just trying to get the details please,” he said. There were reports that Boko Haram insurgents yesterday dispatched letters and pamphlets to residents of Kukawa town in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, informing them and the soldiers in the town of their plan to capture the town anytime soon.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 06:11:12 +0000

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