Three suicide bombers have detonated their devices at a crowded fish market in northern Nigeria, killing at least 20 people.

Borno state police spokesman Joseph Kwaji said on Saturday that the attack happened on Friday night. Hospital officials said two patients later died from their injuries.

The bombers, all believed to be female, also wounded dozens at the fish market in Konduga, just outside the state capital of Maiduguri. The city is the birthplace of the Boko Haram insurgency and has been a frequent target.

Musa Bulama, 32, said he was lucky to have survived the blasts. “I came to the night market to buy fish for dinner when I heard a loud bang some metres behind me … I saw myself on the ground, and before I could pick up myself another one went off then, the third one again. I couldn’t stand any longer and just laid down but everywhere was in total confusion. From the wailing, one can tell that there were many casualties.”

Boko Haram continues to carry out deadly suicide bombings in Borno state and other parts of northern Nigeria as part of its campaign to establish an Islamic state. The group has increasingly used women and young people as bombers, often after abducting and indoctrinating them.</s>MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — A trio of suicide bombers detonated at a crowded fish market in northern Nigeria, killing at least 20 people, police said Saturday.

Borno state police spokesman Joseph Kwaji confirmed the Friday night attack to The Associated Press. Hospital officials said two patients later died from their injuries.

The bombers, all believed to be female, left dozens wounded at the fish market in Konduga, just outside the state capital, Maiduguri. The city is the birthplace of the Boko Haram extremist insurgency and has been a frequent target.

Musa Bulama, 32, said he was lucky to have survived the blasts.

"I came to the night market to buy fish for dinner when I heard a loud bang some meters (yards) behind me and I saw myself on the ground, and before I could pick up myself another one went off then, the third one again," he recalled. "I couldn't stand any longer and just laid down but everywhere was in total confusion."

He added: "From the wailings, one can tell that there are many casualties."

Boko Haram continues to carry out deadly suicide bombings in Borno state and other parts of northern Nigeria as part of its violent campaign to establish an Islamic state in the West African nation.

The extremists have increasingly used women and youth as bombers, often after abducting and indoctrinating them.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Three suicide bombers killed 19 people at a fish market in northeast Nigeria, civilian militia leaders said on Saturday, in an attack blamed on Boko Haram jihadists.

The blasts happened at about 8:30 pm (1930 GMT) on Friday in Konduga, some 35 kilometres (20 miles) southeast of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

Babakura Kolo and Musa Ari, from the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) assisting Nigeria’s military against the Islamists, said the bombers were all men.

“We have 19 dead and about 70 others injured ...Two of the bombers attacked the Tashan Kifi fish market. Then four minutes later, a third bomber struck nearby,” said Kolo.

“The victims included 18 civilians and one soldier. The Tashan Kifi is an informal market which serves as an eatery, market and also hang-out for residents.”

Ari said 22 of the 70 injured were in a critical condition, adding: “There is no question as to who did it: Boko Haram has targeted Konduga several times.”

There was no immediate comment from the military or the police in Borno state, which has borne the brunt of the violence in Boko Haram’s nearly nine-year insurgency.

At least 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million others made homeless since 2009. Nigeria’s military and government maintains the group is a spent force.

But suicide attacks and raids persist, with civilians in hard-to-reach rural areas and outlying towns at risk.

On January 31, two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at Mandarari village, near Konduga.

The blasts happened shortly after another bomber killed four and injured 44 at a displaced persons’ camp in Dalori, 22 kilometres away on the same road to Maiduguri.

A fourth bomber also blew herself up outside the camp.</s>MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA—A trio of suicide bombers detonated at a crowded fish market in northern Nigeria, killing at least 20 people, police said Saturday.

Borno state police spokesperson Joseph Kwaji confirmed the Friday night attack to The Associated Press. Hospital officials said two patients later died from their injuries.

The bombers, all believed to be female, left dozens wounded at the fish market in Konduga, just outside the state capital, Maiduguri. The city is the birthplace of the Boko Haram extremist insurgency and has been a frequent target.

Musa Bulama, 32, said he was lucky to have survived the blasts.

“I came to the night market to buy fish for dinner when I heard a loud bang some meters (yards) behind me and I saw myself on the ground, and before I could pick up myself another one went off then, the third one again,” he recalled. “I couldn’t stand any longer and just laid down but everywhere was in total confusion.”</s>LAGOS, Nigeria — Police say three suicide bombers have attacked a crowded market in northern Nigeria, killing at least 18 people.

Borno state police spokesman Joseph Kwaji confirms the Friday night attack to The Associated Press.

The bombers, all believed to be female, left another 22 people wounded at a fish market Konduga, just outside the state capital, Maiduguri.

The Islamist extremist group Boko Haram continues to carry out deadly suicide bombings in Borno and other parts of northern Nigeria as part of its violent campaign to establish an Islamic state in the West African nation.

The extremist group has increasingly used women and youth as bombers, often after abducting and indoctrinating them.

Maiduguri is the birthplace of the extremist group and has been a frequent target.</s>KANO: Three suicide bombers killed 20 people at a fish market in northeast Nigeria, civilian militia leaders said on Saturday, in an attack blamed on Boko Haram jihadists.

Friday's deadly attacks came in the week that hundreds of Boko Haram suspects went on trial at civilian courts at a military base.

One fighter involved in the 2014 abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from the Borno state town of Chibok was jailed for 15 years.

The suicide blasts happened at about 8:30 pm (1930 GMT) on Friday in Konduga, some 35 kilometres (20 miles) southeast of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

Babakura Kolo and Musa Ari, from the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) assisting Nigeria's military against the Islamists, said the bombers were all men.

"We have 19 dead and about 70 others injured... Two of the bombers attacked the Tashan Kifi fish market. Then four minutes later, a third bomber struck nearby," said Kolo.

"The victims included 18 civilians and one soldier. The Tashan Kifi is an informal market which serves as an eatery, market and also hang-out for residents."

Ari said 22 of the 70 injured were in a critical condition, adding: "There is no question as to who did it: Boko Haram has targeted Konduga several times."

There was no immediate comment from the military or the police in Borno state, which has borne the brunt of the violence in Boko Haram's nearly nine-year insurgency.

At least 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million others made homeless since 2009. Nigeria's military and government maintains the group is a spent force.

But suicide attacks and raids persist, with civilians in hard-to-reach rural areas and outlying towns at risk.

On January 31, two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at Mandarari village, near Konduga.

- Trials and reward -

 The blasts happened shortly after another bomber killed four and injured 44 at a displaced persons' camp in Dalori, 22 kilometres away on the same road to Maiduguri.

A fourth bomber also blew herself up outside the camp.

The Nigerian officer in charge of operations against Boko Haram, Major General Rogers Nicholas, on Wednesday said the Islamic State group affiliate was "in disarray".

Operations since the start of this year had flushed them out of their stronghold in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno state, which had previously been cleared in December 2016.

Nicholas called the jihadists "callous" for "forcefully using the most vulnerable in our society... as IED (improvised explosive device) couriers".

On Tuesday, the army claimed Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was "running for his dear life" because of military action against his hideout.

Army spokesman Brigadier General Sani Usman said Shekau was "desperately trying to escape... disguised as a woman" wearing a hijab to avoid detection.

The military said it would give a reward of three million naira ($8,310, 6,697 euros) for "credible information" leading to his arrest.

In 2012, the army had said it would give a 50 million naira reward.

The United States, which considers Shekau an international terrorist, has said it would offer up to $7 million for information on his whereabouts.</s>Three suicide bombers killed at least 18 people in an attack on a crowded market in Maiduguri, northern Nigeria, on Friday night. A Borno state police spokesperson told AP that all of the attackers were believed to be women. The attack, which also injured 22 people, took place at a fish market outside the state capital. The state is the worst affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.</s>File: At least 18 people were killed in Nigeria after three suicide bombers attacked the city of Maiduguri. Photo: STRINGER / AFP

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Three suicide bombers killed 18 people in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, capital of the state worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency, its police commissioner said on Saturday.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack but the use of suicide bombers in crowded areas is a hallmark of the Islamist militant group, which has killed more that 20,000 people since 2009 and forced over two million to flee their homes.

Damian Chukwu, police commissioner for Borno state, said the attack took place at a fish market around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the centre of Maiduguri at about 8:00 p.m on Friday.

"The three suicide bombers were killed and 18 other persons died. Twenty-two people were injured," said Chukwu.

Suicide bombings have continued despite repeated assertions by the government and the military since 2016 to have defeated the Boko Haram insurgency, which aims to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's northeast.

President Muhammadu Buhari took office in 2015 with a promise to improve security for ordinary Nigerians.

But in addition to the jihadist insurgency, communal violence has plagued swathes of the country in the last few months, including a clash on Thursday that killed 18.</s>At least 22 people were killed and 28 injured when three bombers attacked a market in Nigeria's Borno state, the authorities said on Saturday.

The mayhem occurred late Friday when the attackers detonated explosives at Kifi, in the outskirts of Konduga town, reports Xinhua news agency.

A witness said the three bombers simultaneously blew themselves up in the crowded market.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.</s>A Boko Haram militant involved in the 2014 mass kidnapping of the Chibok girls has been jailed for 15-years in Nigeria. 35-year-old Haruna Yahaya confessed to his role in taking the 276 schoolgirls, but argued he was made to do so under duress.

A SUICIDE bomb blast in northeast Nigeria has killed 19 people and injured approximately 70 others. The deadly attack occurred at a fish market outside of Maiduguri and was not immediately claimed by the Boko Haram jihadist insurgency but bore all the hallmarks of the jihadists.

It came in the week that hundreds of Boko Haram suspects went on trial at civilian courts at a military base.

One fighter involved in the 2014 abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from the Borno state town of Chibok was jailed for 15 years.

The latest suicide blasts happened at about 8:30pm on Friday.

Babakura Kolo and Musa Ari, from the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) assisting Nigeria’s military against the Islamists, said the bombers were all men.

“We have 19 dead and about 70 others injured ... Two of the bombers attacked the Tashan Kifi fish market. Then four minutes later, a third bomber struck nearby,” said Mr Kolo.

“The victims included 18 civilians and one soldier. The Tashan Kifi is an informal market which serves as an eatery, market and also hangout for residents.”

Mr Ari said 22 of the 70 injured were in a critical condition, adding, “There is no question as to who did it: Boko Haram has targeted Konduga several times.”

There was no immediate comment from the military or the police in Borno state, which has borne the brunt of the violence in Boko Haram’s nearly nine-year insurgency.

At least 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million others made homeless since 2009.

Nigeria’s military and government maintains the group is a spent force, but suicide attacks and raids persist, with civilians in remote rural areas and outlying towns at risk.

On January 31, two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at Mandarari village, near Konduga.

The blasts happened shortly after another bomber killed four and injured 44 at a displaced persons’ camp in Dalori, 22 kilometres away on the same road to Maiduguri.

A fourth bomber also blew herself up outside the camp. It is a common strategy of Boko Haram to use women and girls in their attacks.

The Nigerian officer in charge of operations against Boko Haram, Major General Rogers Nicholas, recently said that the Islamic State group affiliate was “in disarray” and the army has claimed that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is “running for his dear life” because of military action against his hide-out.

Army spokesman Brigadier General Sani Usman said Shekau was “desperately trying to escape ... disguised as a woman” wearing a hijab to avoid detection.

The military said it would give a reward of three million naira ($10,000) for “credible information” leading to his arrest.

The United States, which considers Shekau an international terrorist, has said it would offer up to $7 million for information on his whereabouts.
Three suicide bombers kill at least 20 people at a fish market in Konduga, Borno, Nigeria.