Nigeria: Female suicide bombers kill 60

Two female suicide bombers killed more than 60 people at a camp for people displaced by an insurgency of the jihadist Boko Haram group in the northeast Nigerian town of Dikwa, military and emergency officials said on Wednesday.

The attack occurred 85 km outside the capital of Borno state, centre of the seven-year insurgency, they said. It took place on Tuesday, but a breakdown in the telephone system prevented the incident being made public earlier. The two female suicide bombers sneaked into an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp and detonated themselves in the middle of it.

The chairman of the state emergency management agency, Satomi Ahmad, added that 78 people were injured. No group claimed responsibility but the attack bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which has frequently used female bombers.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Army has arrested two soldiers allegedly caught trying to ferry a large quantity of arms and ammunition to Boko Haram extremists, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman said the two were sappers, or combat engineers, who worked in an explosive ordinance unit in the northeast where Boko Haram commits most attacks.