Nigeria police arrest Boko Haram-linked suspects

Initial reports from security sources put the death toll at 30, including the bombers.

Chad’s director general of the gendarmerie, Gen. Banyaman Cossingar, said Boko Haram was suspected in Saturday’s attacks.

Nigeria’s Department of State Services have issued a statement today saying they have apprehended a number of Boko Haram members and uncovered plans to carry out attacks on the FCT during the festive season.

“For now, the situation is under control”, Chadian Communication Minister and government spokesperson Hassan Sylla Bakari said in a statement, calling for vigilance for any further terrorist act.

Police in Chad said the bombers were all women.

USA Today reported the attack took place at a market on Koulfoua.

People are seen near the wreckage of a vehicle blown up by suspected Boko Haram militants in Nigeria’s troubled northeastern city of Maiduguri, March 25, 2014.

Boko Haram, which has led a six-year armed campaign in Nigeria, has stepped up attacks this year in Chad, Niger, and Cameroon after those countries agreed to fight the group.

Still, Cameroon, part of the regional offensive, on Wednesday claimed to have dealt a major blow to Boko Haram, killing around 100 fighters and freeing 900 hostages in a three-day operation last week.

The country has welcomed tens of thousands of refugees displaced from their homes by the conflict with Boko Haram according to UNHCR.

The Nigerian Army has commenced strikes deep inside Sambisa forest, which is believed to be the only remaining strong point of the Boko Haram terrorists.

‘Boko Haram requires a simultanous multilateral counter-insurgency operation which leaves militants with nowhere to run, ‘ he said. Then, in November, two female suicide bombers killed three in Ngouboua, according to the CBC.