Multiple blasts blamed on Boko Haram kill two in Nigeria

Kaduna (Nigeria) (AFP) - At least two people were killed and 15 others injured in a series of explosions in northeastern Nigeria, police said, in an attack the state government blamed on Boko Haram.

The blasts happened at about 9:00 am (0800 GMT) on the outskirts of Madagali, in the far north of Adamawa state, which has been repeatedly targeted by the Islamist militants.

Both police and the state authorities confirmed there were explosions at a checkpoint manned by local hunters as well as at a military post and a bus station.

But with communications difficult in the remote area, there was confusion about the exact nature of the blasts.

Adamawa state police spokesman Othman Abubakar told AFP the blasts involved female suicide bombers. "Two people were confirmed dead and 15 others injured. Four female suicide bombers exploded and died.

"The fourth bomber was shot by soldiers and exploded while heading towards her target," he added.

Adamawa state information commissioner Ahmad Sajo earlier said bombs were planted and detonated remotely, and gave a lower toll of one dead and three injured.

Madagali

He said the government "strongly" believed Boko Haram fighters who were ousted from camps in the nearby Sambisa Forest were behind the explosions.

The former national park lies just across the border in neighbouring Borno state, which has borne the brunt of the fighting in the conflict with Boko Haram since 2009.

The Nigerian military said last month it had retaken control of the forest after a months-long counter-offensive.

Boko Haram fighters are also known to have been holed up near Madagali in the Mandara mountains, which separate northeast Nigeria and Cameroon.

Madagali is nearly 280 kilometres (175 miles) north of the state capital, Yola, by road and has long been a hotspot for Boko Haram attacks, despite being liberated from the militant control.

On January 5, three teenage girls were shot dead at a checkpoint in the remote town on suspicion of planning a suicide attack.

On December 9, at least 45 people were killed in two suicide bombings at the busy markets in Madagali, a year after a similar strike killed 17.

Suicide attacks, particularly by young women and girls, have been a regular feature of the conflict since mid-2014, even when Boko Haram held swathes of territory in the northeast.

Checkpoints, bus stations, mosques, churches, schools and markets have been targeted repeatedly since the start of the insurgency in 2009 to inflict maximum civilian casualties.