Car bomb kills 10 in Born

No fewer than 10 people were killed and 15 wounded when a car bomb, believed to be the handiwork of Boko Haram,   hit a convoy  in the outskirt of the northeastern Borno state’s capital of Maiduguri,

The explosion went off this morning at Muna garage, as the convoy, with a  military escort was going to Gamboru Ngala.

Five persons were inside the taxi hit by the bomber.

A witness said he saw 10 corpses at the scene of the explosion, but NEMA gave a death toll of eight.

The agency made the confirmation in a statement issued by Mr Sanni Dati, Head of Media, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in Abuja.

Dati said that a rescue team from NEMA responded to the incident and evacuated the injured and the dead to University of  Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and Borno State Specialist Hospital.

However, Public Relations Officer of Borno state Police Command, ASP, said  five persons died, while five others sustained injuries.

Cars in Borno state often travel in convoys organized by the military to minimize the risk of Boko Haram ambushes in rural areas.

The army has retaken much of the territory initially lost to the militants but Boko Haram still stages suicide bombing attacks and plants roadside bombs.

“We evacuated eight dead bodies and about 20 other injured persons,” said a rescue worker. A hospital official put the number of wounded at ten.

Boko Haram, which has pledged alliance to Islamic State, has killed about 15,000 people and displaced more than 2 million in its attempt to create a state adhering to strict Islamic laws.