Many killed, wounded after blasts hit Nigeria’s Maiduguri, witnesses say

Police deploy explosives’ clearance teams to three sites following suspected suicide attacks in the northeastern city.

Multiple blasts have struck Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri, killing and wounding dozens of people, according to witnesses, with police deploying explosives’ clearance teams to three locations following several “suspected suicide bomb events”.

The blasts occurred on Monday at the entrance of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and two local markets, known as Post Office and Monday Market, according to Sirajo Abdullahi, the head of operations at Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Maiduguri.

“There are casualties, and they are still managing the casualties at the hospital,” Abdullahi told The Associated Press (AP) news agency. “We can’t give the actual figure until we count.”

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the suspected bombings.

The attacks in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, come as Nigeria battles a complex security crisis involving different armed groups in the north of the country.