Eight Killed in NE Nigeria Suicide Blast
Eight people were killed on Tuesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a livestock market in northeast Nigeria, a local lawmaker and a resident told AFP.
The blast happened at about 1:15 pm (1215 GMT) in the village of Garkida in Adamawa state, said state assembly lawmaker Jerry Kundusi and witness Abdullah Musa.
"We don't know the identity of the assailant but it's obvious it's the work of Boko Haram insurgents," said Kundusi.
Adamawa is one of three northeastern states where the government imposed emergency measures for 18 months from May 2013 because of the Boko Haram insurgency.
But the country's military declared the state "cleared" in March as part of a four-nation fightback against the militants launched the previous month.
Garkida is some 165 kilometers (100 miles) north of the state capital, Yola, and near the state border with Borno, which has been worst affected by the six years of violence.
Kundusi said: "Nine people died in the attack (including the bomber) and 14 others had to be rushed to hospital.
"It was a lone bomber who blew himself up just outside the livestock market."
Musa said he was at home nearby when he heard what he described as "a huge blast."
"When I rushed out I realized that it was an attack just outside the livestock market. Many people were injured and at least nine others were killed (including the bomber)."
Security analysts have said that Boko Haram would likely revert to guerrilla tactics against "soft" civilian targets as it is pushed out of captured towns and territory by the military offensive.
On Saturday, a suicide blast at a bus station in the capital of Yobe state, Damaturu, killed seven and injured 31.
At least 55 were killed last week in two separate attacks on villages near the state capital of Borno, Maiduguri, underlining the continuing threat posed by the group in the restive region.
Source: Agence France Presse
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