At least 21 killed in twin bombings in Nigeria

World Today

Unrest in NigeriaA screen grab taken from a video released by TVC News shows residents reacting after more than 45 people were killed in a twin bomb blasts in a market in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri on November 25, 2014. (AFP PHOTO: TVC NEWS)

Witnesses to twin bombings in Nigeria that killed at least 21 people on Tuesday said the bombers were two teenage girls. No one has claimed responsibility, but suspicion is falling on Islamist militant group, Boko Haram. CCTV America’s Deji Badmus reported this story from Lagos, Nigeria.

Witnesses said the bombers walked into a market at about 11 a.m. local time. One detonated the explosives hidden under her hijab awhile the second waited until a crowd had gathered before setting off her bomb.

Maiduguri is the hometown of the rebel group Boko Haram and has suffered several attacks in the group’s five-year insurgency. Nigeria and its neighbors are trying to combine forces against Boko Haram, but they say they need more money to equip troops.

“This is the time for affirmative action,” said Alex Badeh, chief of defense staff in Nigeria. “It is very important for us to build enduring structures that will have pragmatic value on the Lake Chad Basin Commission community. The military structure in terms of the multinational joint task force is one of such structures and has to be fully activated”

Boko Haram now controls a large part of northeastern Nigeria. On Monday, it seized control of another town, Damasak, on the border with Niger. Many residents and troops left the town.