Female suicide bombers kill at least 18 people, one self-detonates while holding baby, in Boko Haram-occupied region of Nigeria

A series of suicide bombings on Saturday in northeastern Nigeria has killed at least 18 people and injured dozens more, including those attending a wedding and a funeral.

Victims included children and pregnant women, with some Nigerian news outlets reporting up to 30 fatalities. Three female attackers targeted specific locations in Gwoza, a city that has been at the heart of the Boko Haram insurgency for over 15 years, according to the New York Times.

The first attack occurred when a woman detonated a bomb she was wearing at a wedding ceremony, killing seven people, including herself and a baby she was carrying, explained Barkindo Saidu, director general of Borno State’s emergency management agency, in a preliminary report. Two additional attacks took place the same day at a hospital and a funeral service for a victim of the earlier attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings, but Boko Haram has been behind similar attacks in the past. The militant group has killed tens of thousands of people in Nigeria over the years.

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria addressed the attacks, calling them “desperate acts of terror” and an “isolated episode.” He did not provide more specifics on the number of bombs detonated or the exact death toll. Conflicting reports have complicated the situation, with police initially reporting two attacks while emergency services indicated there were three, the third reportedly involving a female teenager who detonated a device near a hospital.

Boko Haram has a history of abducting thousands of teenage girls in Nigeria, forcing them into marriages and compelling them to carry out suicide attacks at large gatherings. In 2014, the group gained international attention when its fighters kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in a village. The incident resulted in viral social media campaigns led by First Lady Michelle Obama who used the popular slogan “Bring Back Our Girls.”