11 killed in Yobe twin blasts

From TIMOTHY OLANREWAJU, Maiduguri

No fewer than 11 people were killed yesterday in Potiskum, Yobe State commercial centre as two suspected male Boko Haram bombers detonated explosive devices at the office of a vilante group and a local relaxation centre.

A suspected suicide bomber was said to have reportedly walked into the office of the vigilante group located in the heart of Potiskum at about 12.30p.m. and detonated explosive devices believed to have been concealed in his body.

“The sound from the blast was very heavy and deafening. Eight people including a commander of the vigilante called Alhaji Ardo, and the bombers were killed at the vigilante office,” Mahmoud Aliyu, a resident told Daily Sun on phone.

He said the second bomber also walked into a local relaxation centre at Mashaya also in the town and detonated the bomb while vigilant residents attempted to prevent him from entering the area.

Three people, including the bomber also died in the second blast, a security source said. A source at the Potiskum General Hospital said on phone that 11 people were brought in dead while eight people, who were injured in the blast were already receiving treatment. The source said some of the families and relations of the deceased were “already coming to pick the remains” of the late victims at the time of filing the report yesterday.

Potiskum has experienced many bomb attacks including the one targeted at a procession of a Muslim group early last year. Another also targeted secondary school students while on the assembly ground at a public school in town.A military source told our correspondent in Maiduguri that the suicide bombers hit the market at 11:23am.Craving anonymity, the source said on the telephone, “I can confirm that there were two suicide bombers, but they are a male and female. The first suicide bomber was a female and hid the bomb on herself which she detonated at the vicinity of the market.“Just as the people gathered around her corpse and a few other people that died in the first explosion, a male, this time around, detonated the explosive on him which killed several people.

“No one can give you the exact casualty now but over 30 persons were killed and many have been rushed to the hospital.”*****************************************************************************************Two suicide bombers – a male and female – attacked a heavily populated Maiduguri market, killing scores of people, an eyewitness, Yusuf Ahmed, said on Tuesday.An unconfirmed source said 65 corpses had been evacuated while others claimed 30 people were killed in the explosion.Ahmed said on the telephone, “As I am talking to you, people are still trying to rescue the injured and evacuate the corpses. It is difficult to know the number of casualties.”He said the place had been condoned off by security agencies making it difficult to assist in the rescue operations.A youth vigilante source confirmed that the female attacker kept a parcel in one of the shops on One-way, a commercial area beside the popular Monday Market, telling the traders that she had something to pick from the market,“The package detonated few minutes later. And as people were still wondering what happened and trying to rescue the injured, a bomber in the same area detonated a bomb planted on her; this claimed so many lives,” the source said.Details later…Another source claimed that the third bombing suspect was caught by the people. This also could not be confirmed as the police had yet to give an official confirmation of the explosion.

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