DIKWA, Nigeria, Feb. 10 (UPI) — Female suicide bombers were responsible for a pair of suicide attacks in Nigeria and Cameroon Wednesday — killing numerous people and wounding dozens more, news reports and emergency officials said.
According to officials, two bombers detonated explosives in the northeast Nigerian town of Dikwa — killing at least 30 and wounding at least 78.
Most news reports Wednesday said the suicide attackers were women, perhaps supporters of the Boko Haram militant group.
Hours earlier, two other female suicide bombers attacked a funeral in Cameroon, which borders Nigeria to the east.
CCTV Africa reported that the Cameroon attack killed at least six people and wounded more than 30 — and included several children. The attackers there are believed to be from Boko Haram.
The militant group has been heavily active in Africa in recent years. More than 50 people were killed by Boko Haram in an attack in northeast Nigeria on Jan. 31.
Also Wednesday, the Nigerian army said it killed an untold number of Boko Haram militants in an ambush at a cattle market near the town of Mainok.
More females are joining Boko Haram’s campaign of terror in Africa, either by choice or by force. Newsweek reported this week that some women are being kidnapped or bought by militants and forced into fighting for the group.
