3 Suicide Bombers Kill at least 30 in Borno

No fewer than 30 people have been killed in a triple suicide bombing attack in Borno state, Reuters is reporting.

“Yesterday around 8pm (1900 GMT) it was reported that there was a very loud explosion in (the village of) Konduga. On reaching the scene of the incident we found there was a lot of casualties. In fact the death toll was over 30 and the injured over 42,” an emergency service official told Reuters.

Konduga village head Bulama Kalli said three suicide bombers had taken part in the attack which targeted villagers who had gathered to watch a soccer game on a large screen.

The leader of a self-defence group in the town Ali Hassan told Al Jazeera that the bombing took place around 9pm on Sunday.

“There was a heated argument between the operator and the bomber who blew himself up,” Hassan said by phone, adding that the operator was preventing him from entering the hall.

The two other bombers detonated their explosives in the crowd at a tea stall in the area.

“Nine people died on the spot, including the operator, and 48 were injured,” Hassan said.

Usman Kachalla, head of operations at the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said: “Lack of an appropriate health facility to handle such huge emergency situation and the delay in obtaining security clearance to enable us deploy from Maiduguri in good time led to the high death toll.”