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Bombing at Maiduguri Market Kills 5


People inspect a damaged tricycle at the site of a bomb explosion, caused by a female suicide bomber in a market, in Maiduguri, Nigeria, July 31, 2015.
People inspect a damaged tricycle at the site of a bomb explosion, caused by a female suicide bomber in a market, in Maiduguri, Nigeria, July 31, 2015.

Reports from the town of Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria said at least five people are dead after a suicide bomber struck in Gamboru market on Friday.

Witnesses to Friday's bombing said a number of people were injured as well.

Though no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the region is a hotbed of Boko Haram activity. Boko Haram has carried out a string of such assaults in the area that have killed hundreds in recent weeks.

On Thursday Nigeria's army said it rescued 59 women, children, and old men being held hostage by Boko Haram Islamic militants.

Women and children rescued by Nigerian soldiers from Boko Haram extremists in northeast Nigeria arrive at the military office in Maiduguri, Nigeria, July 30, 2015.
Women and children rescued by Nigerian soldiers from Boko Haram extremists in northeast Nigeria arrive at the military office in Maiduguri, Nigeria, July 30, 2015.

Army officials said soldiers raided Boko Haram hideouts near Maiduguri.

The officials said many of the terrorists were killed and a number of weapons and vehicles seized.

Army spokesman Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman told VOA, "Whenever there is success of this nature, it goes a long way in boosting the morale of not just the fighting forces, but the overall Nigerian population."

The rescued hostages include five elderly men along with 54 women and children.

Some of the freed captives told reporters that the terrorists gave them little food and constantly threatened to kill them.

Boko Haram militants frequently raid villages and kidnap residents, forcing them to convert to Islam.

Map showing Maiduguri, Nigeria
Map showing Maiduguri, Nigeria

A Boko Haram raid in which nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped from a small town in the northeast last year made global headlines condemnation of the Islamic extremist group. More than 200 of the girls are still missing.

Boko Haram has been carrying out a bloody campaign of terrorism in its quest to turn Nigeria into an Islamic caliphate.

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