Two female suicide bombers attacked the Niger frontier town of Diffa on Wednesday, security sources said, shortly after Chadian army said it had killed 13 fighters from the Boko Haram sect in the Nigerian town of Gambaru.
The violence on Nigeria’s borders with Niger and Cameroon occurred as regional armies are mobilising to foil Boko Haram’s bid to carve out an emirate around Lake Chad, which borders Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
Boko Haram’s five-year-old insurgency has killed thousands in northern Nigeria but regional armies said they have killed hundreds of militants in battles along the borders since deploying troops to contain the threat.
“There were two suicide attacks carried out on Wednesday by women,” said a police source, referring to the Diffa attack. “The two women died and I think they were the only victims.”
Reuters was not able to verify whether there were any other casualties.
Earlier in the day, clashes erupted in the Nigerian town of Gambaru, on the eastern border with Cameroon, where Chad has deployed hundreds of soldiers to help Cameroon ward off attacks from Boko Haram.
Chad’s army said 11 Chadian soldiers were wounded, three out of 14 Boko Haram vehicles were destroyed, and one was seized.
“We knew they were going to attack us. We were waiting. The battle didn’t last long. They fled,” a military source said.
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