UPDATE: Borno car bomb death toll rises to 18

About 18 people were killed and 15 wounded when a car bomb, believed to be the handiwork of Boko Haram, hit a convoy in the outskirt of the northeastern Borno state’s capital of Maiduguri.

The explosion went off this morning at Muna garage, as the convoy, with a military escort was going to Gamboru Ngala. Five persons were inside the taxi hit by the bomber.


 A witness said he saw 10 corpses at the scene of the explosion, but a source in Maiduguri Specialist Hospital said that no fewer than 18 bodies were deposited in the hospital morgue with more being expected.

However, Public Relations Officer of Borno state Police Command, ASP, said five persons died, while five others sustained injuries. Cars in Borno state often travel in convoys organized by the military to minimize the risk of Boko Haram ambushes in rural areas.

The army has retaken much of the territory initially lost to the militants but Boko Haram still stages suicide bombing attacks and plants roadside bombs. “We evacuated eight dead bodies and about 20 other injured persons,” said a rescue worker.

A hospital official put the number of wounded at ten. Boko Haram, which has pledged alliance to Islamic State, has killed about 15,000 people and displaced more than 2 million in its attempt to create a state adhering to strict Islamic laws.