A suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber detonated a bomb at a bustling marketplace in Kauri, a rural community in the Konduga area of Borno State, North East Nigeria.
The explosion occurred around 9 pm on Wednesday, July 31. The market, which operates at night, was filled with people at the time of the attack.
Kauri, situated along the Bama-Maiduguri road, has been a frequent target of Boko Haram attacks. This latest incident is one of several violent episodes the community has faced in recent months. According to local sources, the blast resulted in multiple casualties, including the deaths of a policeman and a woman. Additionally, two patrol vans were set ablaze.
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A government official from the village detailed that the bomb exploded at a local tea joint where villagers typically gather for evening chats. “The bomb went off around 8:05 pm, causing significant damage and injury,” the official said. “Nobody can say exactly how it happened, but we suspected that the bomb was planted, not a suicide attack.”
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the corpses of 19 people and an unspecified number of injured civilians. The injured were quickly evacuated to a hospital in Maiduguri for treatment. Kauri community is located approximately 50 kilometers from Maiduguri, the state capital.
This incident occurred just 24 hours after Shettima Mustapha, an Accountant working with the Local Education Authority in Damboa Local Government Area, was killed when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device (IED) along the Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu highway in Borno.
Efforts to contact the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Daso, were unsuccessful, as his phone was unreachable at the time of this report.
The attack comes on the eve of a planned nationwide protest, which the government has repeatedly warned could be exploited by hoodlums and terrorists. At the time of filing this report, there has been no official statement from authorities regarding the exact number of fatalities or further details on the incident.
