Multiple explosions kill 12 in Nigerian northeast

By Olarewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) - At least 12 civilians have been killed in multiple explosions in a remote area in Nigeria's northeastern Borno State.

Police said five suicide bombers simultaneously targeted Dalori Kofa, some eight kilometers (nearly five miles) to Maiduguri, provincial capital of Borno, the epicenter of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

The attacks occurred late Sunday night but details only emerged on Monday.

"Five female suicide bombers detonated IEDs [improvised explosive devices] strapped to their bodies in the Dalori Kofa community," police spokesman in the area, Victor Isuku said.

The first suicide bomber detonated near a mosque, killing seven people while the second blast occurred in a house killing five, Isuku said.

He added that the third explosion killed the three other remaining bombers.

In total, 12 civilians were killed and 11 injured, the police stated, blaming Boko Haram which has claimed responsibility for most of the bomb attacks in the area including the recent attack in Maiduguri on June 8, in which 13 people were killed.