Two suicide bombers kill 22 at mosque in northeast Nigeria's Maiduguri

[Recursion]

Source: Reuters

Two female suicide bombers killed 22 people on Wednesday at a mosque outside the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the heart of a seven-year-old insurgency by Islamist Boko Haram militants, a military spokesman said.

The attack, which also wounded 18 people, occurred during morning prayers in the village of Ummarari, six km (four miles) from the center of the capital of Borno state in Africa's most populous country and biggest energy producer.

It was the first such assault in the northeast since early February, when two suicide bombers - also women - blew themselves up at a camp for internally displaced people in Dikwa, 85 km (50 miles) from Maiduguri..

"Sadly, 22 people were killed and 18 others sustained various degrees of injuries ... The first attack targeted a mosque, while the second blast was about 50 meters away, a few minutes later," said military spokesman Colonel Sani Usman.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-blast-idUSKCN0WI15W

[MariaThinks]

1. i guess the niqab and hajib can be used to hide bombs

[maxsolomon]

2. Horrible - Boko Haram get more barbaric as their situation grows more desparate

NYT had an article on the situation a week ago; Boko Haram have destroyed the agrarian economy, so they no longer have food sources to raid. Some fighters are surrendering rather than starve.

I wonder if the female suicide bombers are willing, or are they captives forced to carry out the attacks? Considering how many Boko Haram have captured, I think the latter.