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Suicide Bomber Kills 5 in NE Nigeria

by VOA News July 05, 2015

A suicide bomber killed at least five people at a church in northeast Nigeria. The bombing is the latest in a string of suspected Boko Haram attacks that have left some 200 dead over the past week.

The blast took place Sunday morning at a church in Potiskum, the largest city in Yobe state. Witnesses say the bomber was disguised as a church member who detonated the explosives he was carrying shortly after entering the building.

The bombing comes after Friday's attacks near Maiduguri, the capital of nearby Borno state. Military officials say six women suicide bombers caused explosions that killed dozens of people, including a soldier there.

Meanwhile, more bodies are being retrieved from houses destroyed in a suspected Boko Haram attack last week in northeastern Nigeria.

In the past two days, 21 more corpses have been recovered and buried in Kukawa said Haruna Kukawa, a state lawmaker that represents the local government.

'We were prompted by the state governor to visit Kukawa on Friday to oversee the burial of the 97 persons that were killed on Friday. But when we got there we found the volunteer aid workers there have gathered up to 113 corpses for burial. And after, we had buried them all, as we were about to leave for Maiduguri we were called back that five more corpses have been recovered from a burnt house. So we were able to bury 118 in total', said Kukawa.

During the attack, witnesses said gunmen entered mosques and shot men as they prayed before the end of the Ramadan fast then attacked people's homes and shot women preparing meals.

Kukawa is in Borno state, the epicenter of the six-year Boko Haram insurgency. The state has seen a surge of attacks blamed on the Islamist extremist group since President Muhammadu Buhari took office on May 29.

Last month, the president moved the military's command center to the state capital, Maiduguri, as part of efforts to crush Boko Haram. Nigeria and four nearby countries also are setting up a regional military force to fight the group.

Boko Haram, whose name in the Hausa language means 'Western education is a sin,' has attacked countless villages, markets, bus stations, government buildings and places of worship since launching its uprising in 2009.

The insurgency has driven an estimated 1.5 million Nigerians from their homes.

Abdulkareem Haruna contributed to this report.