Blasts in northeast Nigeria’s Maiduguri kill at least seven

Three bomb blasts in as many minutes exploded in Maiduguri, killing at least seven people, witnesses and the army said Wednesday from the northeastern city that is the birthplace of the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group.

Eleven people were injured, army spokesperson Sani Usman said.

Boko Haram, the jihadist group has been blamed for a spate of attacks in Maiduguri and the wider northeast, that aims at “soft” civilian targets such as markets, mosques and bus stations.

It was not immediately clear what caused the latest blasts, which happened in quick succession from 8:10 pm, said Bashir Mohammed, whose house is near the scene.

The Ajilari Cross area has been targeted by similar attacks twice in the last month, including on September 20 when at least 117 were killed.

On October 1, at least 10 people were killed when four suicide bombers blew themselves up.

But the insurgents have reverted to suicide bombings and hit-and-run raids and staged increasingly frequent and deadly attacks across borders into three neighboring states since President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in March, promising to crush the 6-year-old uprising that Amnesty worldwide estimates has killed 20,000 people.

Sources said the three suspected suicide bombers, two men and a woman, raised suspicions before the blasts when they went to the Ajilari Cross area and started asking for directions.

The Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, who confirmed the arrest said the suspects aged 25 and 27 were from Kogi state.

“They were ambushed while returning from an attack on Gajiram near Ngollom village”, he said. He added various weapons were seized from the militants.