15 killed in multiple bomb blasts in Nigerian capital, officials say

LAGOS, Nigeria – Multiple bombs detonated in two locations of the Nigerian capital, Abuja, killed at least 15 people, the National Emergency Management Agency said Saturday.

The explosions Friday night were in Nyanya and Kuje, both satellite towns of Abuja, agency spokesman Sani Datti said in a statement. He said 13 people died in the blast in Kuje and two in Nyanya. At least 41 people were wounded, Datti said.

No group has claimed responsibility but the attack has attributes of others by Boko Haram, the home-grown Islamic extremist group. Boko Haram extremists have largely been carrying out attacks in the country's northeast but occasionally have attacked other towns.

Violence from Boko Haram's six-year insurgency has killed nearly 20,000 people and displaced 1.4 million from their homes. At least 1,000 people have been killed since President Muhammadu Buhari took office earlier this year with the promise of wiping out the insurgents.

Four suicide bombers killed at least 10 people Thursday in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, the army said. No group claimed responsibility but Nigerian security forces blamed Boko Haram, which is based in the area.

At least 39 others were wounded in the attack in the Sareji neighborhood of Maiduguri, military spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman said.

Nigeria's military on Thursday also accused Boko Haram of poisoning water sources in the northeastern Nigeria.

"Credible information ... indicates that though no human life was lost as a result of the barbaric act of the terrorists. However, some cattle were killed after drinking water from some poisoned sources," Usman said.

In a separate incident, residents say five people were killed earlier Thursday by suspected Boko Haram militants in Kirchinga, a village in Adamawa state, which borders the Sambisa forest, a Boko Haram hideout.

Ahmad Musa, who fled the attack on his village, said militants shot indiscriminately at residents, forcing many to flee into nearby bushes to escape the onslaught.

Buhari said Thursday his leadership has taken the battle to the insurgents, and severely weakened their logistical and infrastructural capabilities.

"That they are resorting to shameless attacks on soft targets ... is indicative of their cowardice and desperation," he said.