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Deadly attacks rock Maiduguri during Ramadan
At least 23 people died and 108 were injured on Monday evening when suspected suicide bombers struck three crowded locations in Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's Borno state, according to police.
Targets hit within minutes
The explosions occurred around 19:30 local time (18:30 GMT) at a post office, a bustling weekly market, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital-all busy hubs where large crowds had gathered after breaking the Ramadan fast.
Borno police stated that preliminary findings suggest the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers, though investigations are ongoing to confirm the identities of the attackers.
Witnesses describe chaos
Modu Bukar, a resident who witnessed the market blast, told AFP: "We were sitting when we suddenly heard a loud explosion. Everyone immediately started running in fear. As we ran, people kept shouting that we should keep going."
Mala Mohammed, 31, recounted how panicked crowds fled toward the post office, only to encounter another bomber. "Unfortunately, as they were running towards the post office, the person who had the explosive device ran into the crowd while people were still trying to escape," he said.
Military blames Boko Haram
Nigeria's military attributed the attacks to Boko Haram, the Islamist militant group that originated in Maiduguri and has waged a violent insurgency in the region since 2009. The city had recently experienced a period of relative calm after intensified military operations pushed militants into remote areas.
President Bola Tinubu condemned the bombings as "profoundly upsetting" and "the desperate acts of the evil-minded terrorist groups." He ordered security chiefs to deploy to Maiduguri and take control of the situation.
Recent surge in violence
The scale and location of the attacks-deep within the city-have unsettled residents who had begun to hope that the worst of Boko Haram's insurgency was over. While violence has decreased since its peak around 2015, both Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have recently intensified attacks in northeastern Nigeria.
Hours before the bombings, security forces repelled an overnight assault by suspected Islamist fighters on a military post in Ajilari Cross, on the outskirts of Maiduguri. Officials warn that the threat of further violence persists despite efforts to bolster security.
