Africa | IOL News: Teen blows herself up in Nigeria

Soldiers have said that some of their comrades also belong to Nigeria’s home-grown Islamic extremist group.

Sunday’s deadly blasts happened within minutes of each other at a shopping complex and near a mosque in the religiously divided capital of Plateau state, which the rebels have targeted before.

Boko Haram has increased the intensity and frequency of its attacks on civilians since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power on May 29 vowing to crush the rebels.

With the latest attacks, more than 500 people have been killed, according to AFP reporting.

At least 44 people were killed and 47 others wounded in the shooting and explosions, Mohammed Abdussalam, an official at Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, said Monday.

Gunmen opened fire on the mosque from three directions, said Mr Garba.

One bomb exploded at a restaurant filled with Muslims breaking the Ramadan fast, resident Saminu Attahiru said by phone yesterday.

Sabi’u Bako was picking up a takeout meal when he heard a massive explosion as he walked away with friends.

“The restaurant was destroyed and we saw many people covered in blood”. “We can’t believe that we escaped”.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Sunday night’s attacks bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram insurgents. The witnesses say they don’t know how many worshippers died.

Last week, the militants shot dead 145 people in rural communities of Borno state and carried out a twin suicide bombing near Maiduguri that killed another 14.

After the attack, authorities ordered “all beggars and hawkers…to stay off the streets until further notice”, said Kaduna state government spokesman Samuel Aruwan.

The group is based in the northeast where it captured a large swath of territory previous year; it has since been beaten back severely by multinational forces.

Christians and Muslims in the city of Jos, Nigeria were killed in a string of recent attacks by a militant group.

He said it had already become clear that the violations committed by Boko Haram were extensive and far-reaching, demanding a response of commensurate magnitude.