July 1 (UPI) — At least 18 people were killed and dozens more were injured in a series of seemingly targeted suicide bomb blasts in Nigeria‘s northeastern Borno state, officials said.
The first bomb detonated at about 3 p.m. Saturday during a wedding ceremony followed by a second blast minutes later at the General Hospital Gwoza. The third explosion occurred as the community gathered for a funeral congregation for the dead, the Borno State Emergency Management Agency said in a statement Sunday.
Forty-eight people, including men, women and children, were seriously injured in the bomb blasts, and were treated at the Medical Regimental Services Clinic before being transported to Maiduguri for further treatment, it said.
The deceased victims were all males, according to the officials.
The National Emergency Management Agency added in a statement that it aided in the medical response.
The suicide attacks were reportedly conducted by women.
President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria on Sunday condemned the attacks as “desperate acts of terror and a clear manifestation of the pressure mounted against terrorists,” according to his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale.
“The president declares that the purveyors of wanton violence shall have a certain encounter with justice, and that these cowardly attacks are only but an isolated episode as his government will not allow the nation to slither into an era of fear, tears, sorrow and blood,” Ngelale said in a statement.
He added that Tinubu said his administration is taking “necessary measures” to secure the citizenry.
“Efforts will be redoubled to ensure that those who trouble the nation, dispatching precious lives and disrupting law and order are completely removed,” he said.
Though unclear who was behind the attacks, Amnesty International blamed Boko Haram, an Islamist insurgency based in northeastern Nigeria.
“Boko Haram must end its campaign of vicious and unlawful killings of civilians,” Amnesty International Nigeria said in a statement. “These deplorable attacks that took place at a time people were mourning demonstrate complete disregard for human life.”
The U.S. mission in Nigeria also condemned the attacks “in the strongest possible terms.”
“These reprehensible acts of violence show a cruel and heartless disregard for human life,” it said on X.
“The U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria is committed to our partnership with Nigeria as it works to defeat terrorism and bring the perpetrators of these heinous acts to justice.
