MAIDUGURI,
Nigeria — A bomb blast killed at least 24 people in northeastern
Nigeria and hundreds of fighters invaded a town across the border in
Cameroon in attacks Tuesday that witnesses and officials blame on Boko
Haram Islamic extremists.
These
are the latest in a string of bombings and village raids that have
killed hundreds in recent weeks as officials promise the deployment of a
regional army to halt the Nigerian-born Islamic uprising that has
killed some 20,000 in six years and spilled across the West African
nation's borders.
In
Cameroon, troops repelled an attack on Ashigashia, killing 10 and
forcing the insurgents to retreat, said military spokesman Col. Jaco
Kodji. Two soldiers were wounded but no civilians were reported injured,
he said.
In
the northeastern Nigerian village of Sabon Gari, civilian defense
volunteers collected bodies and body parts of 24 people who died in an
explosion around midday, said the group's spokesman Abbas Gava. Almost
all victims are believed to be traders at the market, Gava said.
A
nurse at Biu hospital 25 miles (40 kilometers) away said they received
more than 20 bodies burned beyond recognition and are treating 41
survivors.
A
regional army of 8,750 troops from five nations was supposed to be
deployed in November but has been delayed. Nigeria's new President
Muhammadu Buhari, who was inaugurated at the end of May, had pledged the
force would be active by the end of July. Delays have been blamed on
funding and uneasy relations between Nigeria and its neighbors.
The
U.S. "strongly condemns" the attack on the market and believes "the
eople of northern Nigeria deserve to live free from violence and from
terror," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Kirby said the U.S. would continue to provide a range of
counter-terrorism assistance to help Nigeria and its regional partners
fight against Boko Haram.
___
Associated Press writer Edwin Kindzeka Moki contributed to this report from Yaounde, Cameroon.
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