10 killed in bombing attacks in northeast Nigeria

Two bombing attacks target separate locations in the local government area of Potiskum in Nigeria’s northeastern Yobe State, killing 10 people.

An attacker, who had been arrested after being suspected of theft, killed eight vigilantes after detonating his explosives at a civilian vigilante office on Monday.

“We suspected he was a thief and then when he couldn’t explain how he came about the things that were found on him, we took him to our office for interrogation,” said one vigilante group member.

“But we didn’t know he had explosives on him. He detonated the explosives and we lost eight men, including our commander,” said the vigilante, who asked not to be named for his own safety.

The second attacker blew himself up outside a tavern after being chased by an angry mob, who had suspected him of intending a bombing.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the explosions, but Potiskum, the state’s commercial capital, has in the past been repeatedly hit by Nigeria-based Takfiri terrorist group Boko Haram.

Militants with Boko Haram terrorists targeted two Shia mosques in the area with bomb attacks last July, killing at least six worshippers and injuring several others.

Boko Haram says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government. It has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of the country since the beginning of its militancy in 2009, which has so far left about 15,000 people dead and displaced about 1.5 million.