Two female suicide bombers launched a deadly attack that killed an estimated 15 people at a packed mobile phone market in Kano, Nigeria, on Wednesday. Kano is the largest city in Northern Nigeria. The explosion ripped through Farm Centre market just after 4:00pm local time and comes only a day after a terrorist attack killed 32 and wounded 80 in the Northeast city of Yola.
As the AFP reports:
“I was preparing for the afternoon prayers when there was an explosion deep inside the market at exactly 4:10 pm,” said (trader Nafiu) Mohammed. “Police officers from a nearby police station mobilized to the scene while traders in confusion locked up their shops and moved out of the market.
“We are now at a distance while the rescue vehicles are taking the victims to hospital. We have no idea of the number of casualties.”
Although the ISIS attack in Paris last week properly grabbed the world’s attention, the two days of attacks in Nigeria highlight the worldwide threat of ISIS and its affiliates. The deadly violence comes as the Islamic uprising led by Boko Haram in the region has taken over 20,000 lives since 2009 and displaced over 2,000,000 in just the past two years.
Boko Haram considers itself the West African province of the Islamic State. In March of this year, it declared its allegiance to ISIS, prompting ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani to release an audio saying he welcomed the group and that ISIS considers West Africa to be part of the Caliphate.
Earlier this year, Boko Haram was driven out of the Sambisa forest – a region in northwest Borno State used by the group to hide hostages from the military and plan attacks unperturbed – by forces from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. In March, Nigeria elected former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari its President after he promised to end Boko Haram’s reign of terror.
Since President Muhammadu Buhari took the presidential seat on May 29th, around 1,500 people have been killed by Boko Haram in northern Nigeria. Buhari has since promised that the Nigerian military, under his leadership, will eliminate Boko Haram entirely from Nigeria by December 2015.
Follow lead investigative reporter and Citizen Journalism Boot Camp founder Lee Stranahan on Twitter at @Stranahan.
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