Suicide Bomber Disguised As A Woman Kills 15 In Chad’s Crowded Market

A Boko Haram suicide bombing in a crowded market in Chad’s capital killed 15 people on Saturday, just days after the militant group claimed a previous bombing in the city that left 38 people dead.

The attack in N’Djamena, by a man disguised as a woman in a full-face veil, came after a botched bombing in the capital of Nigeria’s Borno State, Maiduguri, which killed two pedestrians.

Militant fighters on Friday night also raided the village of Ngamdu, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Maiduguri, killing 11, residents and a member of the civilian militia said.

The attacks underlined the threat still posed by the Islamists in the region, despite the authorities’ claims of recent military successes and with a new regional force set to deploy at the end of the month.

Police director-general Taher Erda said the N’Djamena bomber detonated his explosives belt when he was stopped for security checks at the entrance to the market.

Muslim-majority Chad banned the full-face veil, ramped up security measures and bombed militant positions in Nigeria last month after the first ever Boko Haram attack in its capital.

The provisional toll on Saturday was 15 dead and 80 injured, four of them seriously, said police spokesman Paul Manga. Nine of the victims were female traders and one was a police officer, he added.

An AFP correspondent there described a gruesome scene of carnage and pools of blood. The area, in the heart of the capital, was cordoned off by security forces after the attack at about 8:45 am (0745 GMT), and a police source said there was “no doubt it was Boko Haram”.