At least 18 people killed in suicide bombing in Nigeria

At least 18 people have been killed and 30 injured in a series of deadly explosions in Nigeria believed to have been carried out by female suicide bombers.

One of the bombings is believed to have killed six people and injured others at a wedding ceremony on Saturday, in northeastern Borno state.

The state emergency management agency said the coordinated attacks targeted a wedding, the victims’ subsequent funeral and a hospital in the town of Gwoza.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Nigeria-based Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) militants have previously claimed responsibility for deadly bombings in Borno.

In the past four months, attackers have twice targeted civilians with suicide bombings and improvised explosive devices in Borno state.

Borno state is at the centre of a 15-year insurgency by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has displaced more than two million people and killed more than 40,000.

Boko Haram came to international prominence in 2014 when it kidnapped more than 270 female students from the town of Chibok, also in Borno state.

Authorities said there were 18 confirmed deaths on Saturday, including children, adults and pregnant women.

Some local media reported much higher casualty figures – Nigeria’s Vanguard and This Day said at least 30 people were killed in the blasts.

A curfew was imposed by the military.

Gwoza was seized by Boko Haram in 2014 and retaken by Nigerian forces in 2015 – but the group has continued to carry out attacks and kidnappings near the town since then.

Last November, 20 people were killed by Boko Haram militants while returning from a funeral in neighboring Yobe state.

The attack came a day after rebels killed 17 people in a raid on the village of Gurokayeya, after villagers refused to pay the so-called harvest tax, police said.