Bombings in Nigeria

This item appears on page 15 of the December 2015 issue.

Two suspected suicide bombings in northeastern Nigeria on Oct. 23, the first at a mosque in the city of Maiduguri in the state of Borno and the second at a mosque in Yola in Adamawa state, killed at least 61 people and injured many more. As of press time, no group had claimed responsibility for the attacks. 

Northeastern Nigeria is home to the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has attacked with bombs in the past. The combined military forces of Nigeria, Niger and Chad have weakened Boko Haram, which at one point had declared northeastern Nigeria to be an independent state under its control.

On Oct. 28 in villages in the Sambisa forest in the northeast, Nigerian forces rescued 338 hostages, mostly women and children, from Boko Haram, killing at least 30 militants.