Boko Haram strikes again, kills 34 in Potiskum, Chad

Firstclass newsline gatherd that two suicide bombers believed to be
Boko Haram terrorists hit Potiskum, the second largest town in Yobe
State on Monday morning, killing 11 people and wounding eight
others.
An eyewitness, Idris Abdul, told a source via the telephone that one
of the bombers first attacked a vigilante group office at the Dorowa
area of the town with an Improvised Explosive Device .
According to him, the terrorist and seven other people died on the spot.
A member of the youth vigilante group, Ibrahim Haruna, who also spoke
on the attack, said, ''A young man came to our office with a laptop
bag but we insisted that anybody that wanted to enter must be
searched. But as he pretended to be opening his bag, he detonated an
explosive."
He disclosed that one of those killed was the commander of the
vigilante group, adding that while people were trying to overcome the
shock occasioned by the vigilance office attack, the second suicide
bomber struck in a pub.
Haruna added, "When everyone was still in shock over the attack in our
office, another explosion happened five minutes after at a 'drinking
joint' in the same neighbourhood."
Three persons, including the bomber, were killed in the explosion.
According to Haruna, the bomber walked into the pub and requested a
drink before detonating the explosive device strapped to his body.
The dead and the injured were taken to the Accident and Emergency Unit
of the General Hospital, Potiskum.
Monday's attack came just a day after Boko Haram militants attacked
Babangida, the headquarters of the Tarmuwa Local Government Area of
Yobe State.
Also on Monday, Boko Haram insurgents killed 23 people in Chad, one
of the countries teaming up with Nigeria under a Multinational Joint
Task Force, to defeat the militant Islamist sect.
Four of the insurgents also lost their lives and 100 others injured in
the attacks on N'Djamena.
The attacks are the first of their kind in Chad, an oil-producing
nation and a major Western ally which has also spearheaded offensives
on al-Qaeda-linked groups in Mali.
"Boko Haram is making a mistake by targeting Chad," Communications
Minister Hassan Bakari said on state television.
"These lawless terrorists will be chased out and neutralised wherever
they are," he vowed.
Bakari did not give further details but Interior Minister Abderahim
Hamid toldReutersearlier that there had been at least one suicide
attack at the police headquarters.
One witness at the central police station said he had seen three
bodies on the ground.
Photos circulated on Twitter showed several blood-stained bodies and
damaged motorbikes reportedly used in the attack.
Chad has lost dozens of soldiers fighting in northern Mali and in
northern Nigeria. The first known attack by Boko Haram on Chadian soil
took place in February on the shores of Lake Chad and has been
followed by a handful of other isolated incidents.
We'll work with Buhari to defeat B'Haram–US
Meanwhile, the United States has said it will work with President
Muhammadu Buhari to stop the activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria and
its neighbouring countries.
The US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, Linda
Thomas-Greenfield, made the promise during a telephonic press
briefing at the 25th African Union Summit in South Africa on Monday.
She said, "Fighting terrorism is not easy. Since 2001, we have been
fighting terrorism and we will continue to fight terrorists. Fighting
in Africa requires support of the entire region."
Thomas-Greenfield added that the Boko Haram insurgency was not a
Nigerian problem alone. Because of this, she said. Washington was
working closely with Nigeria's neighbours to curtail the activities of
the terrorist group.
According to her, the US was not only committing $5m to Nigeria's
efforts at defeating Boko Haram, it had been giving equipment and
technical assistance to the Federal Government.
But contrary to Buhari's statement on Sunday, the assistant secretary
said that Africa was not under siege. She however admitted that the
continent was facing "really horrific attacks in recent times."
"I'll not say Africa is under siege. I'll say Africa is facing some
challenging security situations," she said.
Firstclassnewsline.net