Boko Haram militants have launched a series of attacks on the city of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State killing at least 50 people.
The terrorists attacked the city “with rocket-propelled grenades and multiple suicide bombers,” witnesses said on Monday.
Scores more wounded in blasts and shootouts and a bombing outside a mosque at dawn.
The military said there were multiple attacks at four southwestern entry points to the city.
A soldier said the militants had fired rocket-propelled grenades into four residential areas on the outskirts of the city.
Soldiers fired back, and many civilians were caught in the crossfire, according to the soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
In another blast, two girls blew themselves up in Buraburin neighborhood, killing several people, according to civil servant Yunusa Abdullahi.
“We are under siege,” Abdullahi said. “We don’t know how many of these bombs or these female suicide bombers were sneaked into Maiduguri last night.”
Meanwhile, medics say the death toll could go higher.
A nurse at Maiduguri Specialist Hospital said dozens of critically wounded, mainly children and women, may not survive. The nurse, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the hospital was overflowing with patients. About 60 people had wounds from bullets and shrapnel from explosive devices, she said. Other wounded people had to be sent to other hospitals in the city.
In a separate incident on Monday, two female suicide bombers killed dozens of people at a busy motor park in Madagali town of Adamawa state, north east of the capital, Yola, killing at least 30 people.
The bombing happened in the morning, the same day that suicide bombers struck in a mosque in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Madagali had witnessed bombings by Boko Haram in the past and was once occupied by the insurgents.
News of the blasts did not reach Yola, the capital of the state because the town, which is close to the Cameroon border, is far from the capital.
The bombing was confirmed by the Nigerian army.
Brig.-Gen Victor Ezugwu, Brigade Commander, 28 Task Force Brigade, Mubi, said two female suicide bombers detonated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Madagali village in Adamawa.
“Two female suicide bombers struck at a motor park in Madagali and detonated their devices and we lost some beloved country men,” he said.
Ezugwu, who did not disclose the number of casualties, however stated that the situation had been brought under control and that security had been beefed up in the town.
The multiple attacks appears to be a challenge to President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration last week that Boko Haram has been “technically” defeated, capable of no more than bombings on soft targets.
