Boko Haram bombings in north Cameroon kill 26

At least 26 people were killed in three suicide attacks carried out by Boko Haram militants in the far north of Cameroon on Monday.

Bodo, separated from Nigeria by only a small border river, was previously targeted at the end of December when two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at the town entrance. “There are around 25 deaths and several wounded”, the official said.

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, northern Cameroon has become the scene of increasingly frequent suicide attacks as Boko Haram has stepped up cross-border violence that has also spread into Chad and Niger.

“We have deployed soldiers to the area to assist the local defense group because we are informed a few fighters may have escorted them (the bombers) to Cameroon from Nigeria”, he said.

Gen Kodji said some accomplices may still be in hiding.

Since 2013, almost 1,200 people have died in Boko Haram attacks in Cameroon’s far north, according to a toll given this month by Communications Minister Issa Chiroma Bakary.

Al Jazeera reports on the bombing in Bodo, Cameroon.

Officials said at the time that the bombers were trying to access the market but were stopped by local residents.

Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency has killed about 20,000 people and displaced 2.3 million, according to Amnesty International and the United Nations.