DAMATARU, Nigeria, Aug. 26 (UPI) — Two suicide bombers killed a soldier in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri Tuesday.
The soldier was enforcing a curfew in the city when the bombers showed up and detonated their bombs at a local checkpoint at about 11 p.m. local time. A young female who was with the victim and other soldiers was injured but is currently being treated at a hospital in Maiduguri.
A military commander said the bombing was likely planned in advance and that although vehicle movement in the area is heavily restricted once the curfew sets in, pedestrian movement is typically allowed until midnight. He added that the suicide bombers were being interrogated by soldiers at the checkpoint when only one out of the two men raised his hands. It was then that the bomb was detonated.
The Nigerian military has yet to comment on the attack.
News of the attack comes after 5,000 individuals were freed from a local installation run by Boko Haram, a militant group who has been imposing its harsh version of Islamic law for six years. The group is facing increasing pressure from a regional offensive staged by troops from Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad. A research fellow at the National Defense College in the Nigerian Capital of Abuja says suicide bombings are Boko Haram’s only way of staying relevant.
It also follows news of two teenagers who took six lives in total, including themselves, in the city of Damataru on Tuesday.
The first attack happened at a public transit station and was triggered by a girl believed to be 14 years of age. This was the deadlier of the two, claiming five lives in total including the bomber.
A security officer at the transit station said he saw the girl just moments before she detonated her explosives next to a car carrying several passengers.
The second attack occurred on a public highway and was carried out by a boy of about the same age who escaped from the clutches of passengers aboard a bus who wanted to arrest him after finding out he had a bomb strapped to his body.
An individual named Musa Abdul said the teenage boy was traveling to another public transit station despite not carrying any bags or belongings. Abdul instructed the bus driver to turn around and head for the nearest military installation, which prompted the boy to escape and commit suicide shortly thereafter.
A statewide emergency agency confirmed that 22 individuals were also injured by the attacks. It is also providing free medical assistance to those injured as per the orders of Yoba state governor Ibrahim Galdam.
Boko Haram has been known to recruit teenagers as suicide bombers.
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