Woman in suicide blast at Nigeria barracks

A female suicide bomber has blown herself up outside an army barracks in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Gombe, killing at least one soldier. 

According to the military, soldiers stopped the woman as she tried to get into the barracks with explosives hidden under her robes. 

No one has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s blast.

“I heard a loud sound and then black smoke covering the place .. We saw soldiers moving bodies,” Gombe
trader Bello Kasuwankatako told Reuters news agency.

Witnesses had earlier said between three and five people died.

Leaders from Gombe’s neighbouring state of Borno told journalists on Sunday that they had now buried 110 bodies from attacks on nine villages early last week.

“It was a great tragedy. There are still corpses lying in the bushes surrounding the communities,” said Ali Ndume, a senator representing southern Borno.

“Many of our people that fled to the top of the hills during and after the attacks are still there and now stranded.” 

Traditional leader Lawan Abba Kaka said they had buried 42 corpses at the village of Attagara, 24 at Aganjara, 20 at Agapalawa and smaller numbers at other settlements – all of them in the Gwoza hills near the border with Cameroon.

“The insurgents came and said they wanted to discuss something with us. They said we need to discuss some issues bordering on our differences in the communities but they opened fire on people who were gathered,” Kaka said.

Meanwhile, suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked a town in Cameroon’s far north on Saturday but local security forces fought them off, killing at least two gunmen, Cameroon’s government said.

On Wednesday, gunmen rounded up more villagers outside Borno’s state capital Maiduguri saying they were going to deliver a sermon, then opened fire, killing at least 42, said a police source.

The rebel group is also thought to be active in neighbouring Niger and Chad.