He blamed the attack on "two Boko Haram
terrorists".
"The first suicide bomber targeted Damboa
Central Mosque but due to stringent security
measures, he could not gain entry.
Obviously frustrated, he exploded [his
device] and died near the central mosque,"
he added.
"However, the second bomber veered off
and gained entry into another smaller
mosque and detonated the bomb, killing
himself and six other worshippers and
injuring one other person.
"The wounded have been evacuated to a
hospital while efforts are on to clear the
rubble. Troops and other security agencies
have been mobilised to the area."
The attack is the latest against a mosque in
northeast Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad
region, as part of a campaign of violence by
the Islamist group against civilian "soft"
targets.
On June 27, two would-be suicide bombers
were killed in Maiduguri, as they tried to
target an overnight Ramadan vigil at a
mosque on the Damboa Road.
Three days later, at least 10 people were
killed in the town of Djakana, in northern
Cameroon near the Nigerian border, when a
suicide bomber blew himself up.
On July 4, the Nigerian Army said it
thwarted an attempted suicide bombing by
three women against people displaced by
Boko Haram in Monguno, northeast of
Maiduguri.
There has been a relative lull in attacks, as
troops regain control of territory once held
by Boko Haram, whose fighters have been
pushed into remote rural areas towards
Lake Chad.
Usman said suspected Boko Haram fighters
also attacked the village of Gaskeri, near the
sprawling internally displaced people's camp
at Dalori, outside Maiduguri, on Thursday
night.
"They killed three civilian vigilantes and
looted foodstuffs. Troops have been
mobilised and they are on the suspected
terrorists' trail," he added.
The seven-year insurgency has left at least
20 000 people dead in Nigeria and displaced
more than 2.6 million people, heaping
pressure on local authorities in Nigeria,
Niger, Cameroon and Chad.
Aid agencies have warned that some 50 000
children under five are facing severe acute
malnutrition in Borno alone this year
because of food shortages caused by the
conflict.
UN assistant secretary-general and regional
humanitarian coordinator Toby Lanzer said
in a statement that "time is running out for
the poorest and most rural of people" in the
northeast.
"A failure to act now will result in deeper
and broader suffering, unlike anything seen
to date in Nigeria's northeast and a steeper
bill for all concerned to alleviate suffering
and stabilise the situation," he added.
terrorists".
"The first suicide bomber targeted Damboa
Central Mosque but due to stringent security
measures, he could not gain entry.
Obviously frustrated, he exploded [his
device] and died near the central mosque,"
he added.
"However, the second bomber veered off
and gained entry into another smaller
mosque and detonated the bomb, killing
himself and six other worshippers and
injuring one other person.
"The wounded have been evacuated to a
hospital while efforts are on to clear the
rubble. Troops and other security agencies
have been mobilised to the area."
The attack is the latest against a mosque in
northeast Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad
region, as part of a campaign of violence by
the Islamist group against civilian "soft"
targets.
On June 27, two would-be suicide bombers
were killed in Maiduguri, as they tried to
target an overnight Ramadan vigil at a
mosque on the Damboa Road.
Three days later, at least 10 people were
killed in the town of Djakana, in northern
Cameroon near the Nigerian border, when a
suicide bomber blew himself up.
On July 4, the Nigerian Army said it
thwarted an attempted suicide bombing by
three women against people displaced by
Boko Haram in Monguno, northeast of
Maiduguri.
There has been a relative lull in attacks, as
troops regain control of territory once held
by Boko Haram, whose fighters have been
pushed into remote rural areas towards
Lake Chad.
Usman said suspected Boko Haram fighters
also attacked the village of Gaskeri, near the
sprawling internally displaced people's camp
at Dalori, outside Maiduguri, on Thursday
night.
"They killed three civilian vigilantes and
looted foodstuffs. Troops have been
mobilised and they are on the suspected
terrorists' trail," he added.
The seven-year insurgency has left at least
20 000 people dead in Nigeria and displaced
more than 2.6 million people, heaping
pressure on local authorities in Nigeria,
Niger, Cameroon and Chad.
Aid agencies have warned that some 50 000
children under five are facing severe acute
malnutrition in Borno alone this year
because of food shortages caused by the
conflict.
UN assistant secretary-general and regional
humanitarian coordinator Toby Lanzer said
in a statement that "time is running out for
the poorest and most rural of people" in the
northeast.
"A failure to act now will result in deeper
and broader suffering, unlike anything seen
to date in Nigeria's northeast and a steeper
bill for all concerned to alleviate suffering
and stabilise the situation," he added.
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