By Ndahi Marama

MAIDUGURI—Two suicide bombers killed 14 people, including two members of Civilian JTF, at a military checkpoint along Miringa-Biu Road, Borno State, yesterday.

They reportedly disguised as Keke Napep (tricycle) operators.

This came on a day hundreds of suspected members of Boko Haram sect invaded Askira Uba Local Government Area, shooting residents, burning homes and public buildings, leaving scores of people dead.

The suicide attack, which took place at about 1pm yesterday, also left no fewer than 14 people injured, mainly hawkers of groundnuts and garden eggs, among others.

A competent source added that two members of Civilian JTF, including a female vigilante who was assisting the military operatives, also lost their lives in the explosion.

Sources said the suicide bombers, who disguised as commercial drivers, managed to join the long queue for security checks at the entrance of the town.

When they were asked to park for checks by men of the Civilian JTF, they alighted from the tricycle and detonated their explosives simultaneously.

A resident of Mbulamyel ward of Biu, Mallam Ali Usman said: “I saw a military vehicle conveying the dead and the injured to Biu General Hospital at about 1:30pm, but I cannot give you the exact figure of casualty as the vehicle was speeding, heading to town.”

Confirming the incident, the Senator representing the area, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, told journalists that 14 people, including the suicide bombers, were killed, while several others sustained injuries.

However, the Caretaker Chairman of Biu Local Government Area, Alhaji Kumar Kadafur, who visited the scene, insisted that nine people, including a female member of Civilian JTF, were killed in the explosions.

According to him, the injured are currently receiving treatment at Biu General Hospital.

Invading Askira Uba

Meanwhile, the Askira Uba Local Government invasion left scores of people dead.

Askira Uba is south and about 220 kilometres from Maiduguri and also shares border with Sambisa Forest.

It had witnessed series of terrorists’ attacks since last year which led to displacement of thousands of residents, before some fleeing residents resettled back in the troubled town.

Sources said the terrorists, armed with AK-47 rifles, Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, and petrol bombs stormed the town on Toyota Hilux vehicles at about 7:35pm and wreaked havoc, without resistance as security operatives had all deserted the area.

The source added that the insurgents were suspected to have come from their camps in Sambisa Forest, following the ongoing military raid on their camps in the last one week.

Efforts to get confirmation from the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Gideon Jubrin, proved abortive as his phone lines were all switched off at press time.

Last Thursday, a female suicide bomber hit a crowded market in Biu, killing eight people and injuring 15 others.