MAIDUGURI: Four suicide bombers killed at least 10 people in Maiduguri, Nigeria’s army said on Friday, after also blaming Islamic extremists for trying to poison water sources in northeastern Nigeria.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Thursday night attack but Nigerian security forces blamed the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, which is based in the area.

At least 39 others were wounded in the attack in the Sareji neighbourhood of Maiduguri, military spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman said.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s military on Thursday also accused Boko Haram of poisoning water sources in the northeastern Nigeria.

“Credible information ... indicates that though no human life was lost as a result of the barbaric act of the terrorists, however, some cattle were killed after drinking water from some poisoned sources,” Usman said.

In a separate incident, residents say five people were killed earlier on Thursday by suspected Boko Haram militants in Kirchinga, a village in Adamawa state, which borders the Sambisa forest, a Boko Haram hideout.

Ahmad Musa, who fled the attack on his village, said militants shot indiscriminately at residents forcing many flee into nearby bushes to escape the onslaught.

Violence from Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency has left nearly 20,000 people dead and 1.4 million displaced from their homes. At least 1,000 people have been killed since President Muhammadu Buhari took office earlier this year with the promise of wiping out the insurgents.

Buhari said Thursday his leadership has taken the battle to the insurgents, and severely weakened their logistical and infrastructural capabilities.

Published in Dawn October 3rd, 2015

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