Coordinated Suicide Bombings Target Wedding, Funeral, and Hospital in Northern Nigeria, Killing 18

Injured victims of a suicide bomb attack receive treatment at a hospital in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Sunday, June 30, 2024.

Female suicide bombers launched coordinated attacks in northern Nigeria, targeting a wedding, a funeral, and a hospital, killing at least 18 people, local authorities reported on Sunday.

The attacks took place in Borno state, a region heavily affected by the insurgency led by Boko Haram since 2009. Although no group immediately claimed responsibility, the use of women and girls as suicide bombers raised suspicions that the attackers might be among the thousands kidnapped by Boko Haram over the years, including schoolchildren.

The first explosion occurred during a marriage celebration in the northeastern town of Gwoza, according to Barkindo Saidu, director-general of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency. "Minutes later, another blast occurred near General Hospital," Saidu stated, while the third bomber, disguised as a mourner, detonated the device at a funeral service. Children and pregnant women were among the victims. At least 30 others were wounded, with injuries including abdominal ruptures and skull fractures.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu condemned the attacks as “desperate acts of terror” and described them as “an isolated episode.” The Boko Haram insurgency, which has extended across borders around Lake Chad, has resulted in over 35,000 deaths, displaced 2.6 million people, and created a severe humanitarian crisis.

Boko Haram, with one faction aligned with the Islamic State group, seeks to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria, a country of 170 million people divided almost equally between a predominantly Christian south and a mainly Muslim north.

The resurgence of suicide bombings in Borno has heightened concerns about regional security. Authorities have imposed a curfew in the city. Gwoza is near Chibok, where 276 schoolgirls were abducted in 2014, with nearly 100 still in captivity.

Since the Chibok abductions, at least 1,500 students have been kidnapped across Nigeria as armed groups use these kidnappings to fund their activities and assert control over villages.