‘Mentally handicapped’ woman kills 14 in Yobe suicide bombing

A “mentally handicapped” female suicide bomber killed at least 14 people at a crowded market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Damaturu on Sunday, witnesses and a hospital source said.

“We pulled out 15 bodies… including that of the suicide bomber who was identified as a mentally handicapped woman known in the area for years.”

That death toll was confirmed by a nurse from the local hospital who added that 47 people were injured in the blast.

UPDATED

A “mentally handicapped” female suicide bomber killed at least 14 people and injured 47 more at a crowded market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Damaturu on Sunday, witnesses and a hospital source said.

“Today is the market day here and at 9:50 (0850 GMT) this morning, a female suicide bomber blew herself up at the… entrance of the market where commuters were arriving,” market trader Garba Abdullahi told AFP.

“We evacuated 15 dead bodies to the hospital, including the suicide bomber who was identified as a mentally unstable woman that had been known for years in the area,” he said, adding that the bomber was around 40 years old.

That death toll was confirmed by a nurse from a local hospital.

“We have received 15 dead bodies and 47 people with injuries from the market blast site. Eight of the dead are women. One of them, from all the indications, was the suicide bomber,” added the nurse from the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, who requested anonymity.

“Most of the injuries are serious,” she added.

Damaturu was the scene of a triple suicide bombing on July 18 when three girls blew themselves up killing at least 13 people as residents prepared for the Eid festival marking the end of Ramadan.

The town is the capital of Yobe state which, along with the other northeastern states of Borno and Adamawa, has been the worst hit by Boko Haram’s bloody campaign for a hardline Islamic caliphate, which has left 15,000 people dead and 1.5 million homeless since 2009.

A new wave of violence has left 800 people dead since Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in May.

Buhari has made it a priority to tackle the insurgents, who are linked to the Islamic State organisation that has seized swathes of Iraq and Syria.