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Suicide Attack Kills 7 in Northeast Nigeria


A suicide bombing in northeastern Nigeria killed at least seven people and wounded 33 others Saturday.

Officials said the female attacker set off her explosives at a crowded bus station in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state.

No one thought she was a threat and many people thought she was trying to find a shop, said witness Mallam Audu.

Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Geidam visited the Damaturu General Hospital where most of the victims were taken for treatment. He described the attack as "unfortunate and inhuman," and pledged that the government would pay for the survivors' medical treatment.

Yobe has been attacked before. A double bombing in January targeted a market, with the second bomb detonating as rescuers rushed to help victims of the first blast.

Northeast Nigeria is the site of ongoing clashes with Boko Haram militants. The group's name translates to "Western education is sin" in the local Hausa language.

The group has said its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.

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