BEVERLY HILLS, July 30, (THEWILL) – No fewer than 13 persons were killed and 35 others injured Tuesday night by rampaging Boko Haram gunmen who stormed Potiskum, a commercial town in Yobe State, bombing a mosque and a local market.
Local sources disclosed on Wednesday that the terrorists arrived the town at about 7:30pm in some unmarked vehicles and started detonating Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at the Alkali Kalli and Shakafa Mosque near the market square.
A resident of the town, Hudu Ibrahim, told THEWILL that the bomber managed to escape unhurt in one of the vehicles used in the attack.
According to him, “The injured people were carried in seven Hilux patrol vehicles by the military and police.
“We were shocked at the bombing of the mosque by a suspected Boko Haram suspects in a vehicle. Immediately our Imam completed the reading the Holy Quran, we were about to continue with our prayers, when we suddenly heard a loud blast that shook the entire building leaving five people dead.
“Many of our fellow Muslims were also injured with broken limbs, while other lost their arms and legs. The soldiers and policemen conveyed the injured to hospital by 7.45pm.”
Another resident of the commercial town, Isa Ahmadu, told THEWILL that the suicide bomber that detonated the explosives at the market square pretended to be performing ablution to pray, before the triggering the explosive that also consumed him.
“Many people were scared and terrified yesterday, after the suicide bomber detonated the explosive at his back; and killed six people with 35 other injured, including this man that detonated the bomb,” he explained, adding that the twin blasts at mosque and market square, were detonated simultaneously to kill and cause terror among the people of Potiskum.
“The Boko Haram terrorists have defied the military’s ban on vehicular movements in Potiskum and Damaturu, by using a red car to throw the explosives at us. How many people will they kill here in this town?”
“Enough is enough! Last year they attempted to kill our royal father, after killing five people, including his orderly. And yesterday they killed a dozen Muslims in this mosque,” he lamented.
According to him, “All the people that were killed in yesterday’s twin blast were buried Wednesday morning, according to Islamic rites.” Meanwhile, the Yobe State Police Commissioner, Markus Danladi, has confirmed the incident, saying over a dozen people were killed in the twin bombing.
The confirmation came as the State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, who is currently performing the Umrah (lesser Hajj) in Saudi Arabia, expressed deep shock and outrage at the loss of lives and destruction in the attacks in Katarko and Potiskum town in which about 17 people were killed and many more injured.
In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mallam Abdullahi Bego, Gaidam described the attacks as “senseless, heinous, barbaric and totally unjustifiable.”
Commiserating with the families of the victims at what he described as a great loss, he prayed that Allah grants eternal repose to those killed and quick recovery to those who sustained various degrees of injury.
The governor also directed that free medical treatment be provided for all the injured until they are discharged from hospital. He nonetheless called on the people of the state to remain vigilant to happenings around their communities and promptly report any suspicious persons or objects to the security agents.
