DEADLY TERROR continues to plague Nigeria’s northeastern states after two female suicide bombers carried explosive devices into a market killing four and injuring dozens.
The attack took place over the weekend (Jan 11) in the city of Potiskum in Yobe state – it came a day after a girl, reportedly aged about 10, blew herself up in the Borno state town of Maiduguri, which resulted in 10 dead and over 20 people injured.
The lethal blasts come as Islamist terror group Boko Haram ramps up its offensive against government forces and civilian targets.
Witnesses in Potiskum told media that the second suicide bomber set off her package while people were trying to assist the injured from the first blast.
Security services meanwhile told new agency AFP that the devices appeared to have been detonated remotely.
Reports claim that the two suicide bombers looked to be women in their early 20s.
AFP quoted a security official as saying: “The second bomber was terrified by the explosion and she tried to dash across the road but she also exploded.”
As of yet, no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in Potiskum and Maiduguri, but Boko Haram is widely suspected of being behind the blasts. The militants, who are attempting to establish their own state within Nigeria, have used female suicide bombers in the past.
In reaction to the use of a young child as a suicide bomber, the UN’s children’s branch UNICEF condemned the attack.
In a statement the organisation’s executive director Anthony Lake said: “Words alone can neither express our outrage nor ease the agony of all those suffering from the constant violence in northern Nigeria.
“But these images of recent days and all they imply for the future of Nigeria should galvanise effective action. For this cannot go on.”