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Triple suicide attack kills at least 30 in northeast Nigeria

Authorities in northeastern Nigeria say at least 30 people have been killed by a suicide bomber. The victims had been watching a soccer match on television Sunday night in the town of Konduga in Nigeria's Borno state. Usman Kachalla, head of operations at the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said Monday the attack took place about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Maiduguri.

Reuters WORLD
Published June 17,2019
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At least 30 people have been killed in a triple suicide attack in northeast Nigerian state of Borno, state emergency officials said on Monday, in the biggest mass killing this year by suicide bombers.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Boko Haram group and its splinter group have often carried out attacks targeting civilians and the military in Borno state. Their attacks have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions of people.

"Yesterday around 8pm (1900 GMT) it was reported that there was a very loud explosion in (the village of) Konduga. On reaching the scene of the incident we found there was a lot of causalties. In fact the death toll was over 30 and the injured over 42," an emergency service official told Reuters.

The military did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier the village head, Bulama Kalli, said three suicide bombers had taken part in the attack, targeting a place where villagers had gathered to watch a soccer match on a large screen. Most of those killed have now been buried while several survivors are still in hospital in Maiguduri, Kalli said.

Konduga is located some 25km (15 miles) from Maiduguri, the state capital of Borno state.

The Nigerian government says the Boko Haram insurgency, and the rival West Africa Province group, have been largely defeated, but they continue to launch attacks on civilian and military targets.

The decade-long insurgency has killed more than 30,000 people and displaced millions of civilians in northeast Nigeria.