*’bomber attempted to grab rescue worker’
From TIMOTHY OLANREWAJU, Maiduguri
Four policemen have been injured in a suicide bomb attack at a suburb of Maiduguri, Borno’s capital.
Two suicide bombers infiltrated Muna Garage area, outskirts of the city centre on Wednesday afternoon, residents of the area said.
Chairman Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Engr Ahmed Satomi told Daily Sun one of the two suicide bombers approached a police patrol vehicle parked along the road. Some police personnel of the anti-robbery squad were in the vehicle when the bomber approached and blew up herself.
“One of the suicide bombers approached the police patrol vehicle and detonated explosive devices on her body. Four policemen were injured and immediately evacuated to the hospital,” Satomi disclosed.
He said the second bomber came from a market nearby and had attempted to grab a staff of SEMA who was engaged in the rescue operation and evacuation of victims of the earlier explosion. The staff however ran in another direction after sensing danger even as the bomber too fled the scene.
Witnesses said the bomber was gunned down after a hot chase by the military troops in the area. The police Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD) was mobilized to the scene later to detonate the IEDs strapped to the bomber’s body.
Boko Haram has been carrying out several bomb attacks around the Muna Garage area located some five kilometres to the city centre and a commercially active area where vehicles conveying people and goods to border communities along Cameroon and Chad usually take off from.