By Kabir Adeniyi
LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - At least eight people were killed and 11 others injured on Saturday when a bus in Nigeria’s Borno State hit an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Boko Haram terrorists, officials said.
According to police spokesman Nahum Daso, the IED detonated around midday under the bus traveling along the Maiduguri-Damboa road in the country's northeast, killing eight people, including the driver.
“The injured victims have been taken to the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri for treatment. A joint clearance operation between the police and military ongoing,” Daso’s statement said.
Borno Governor Babagana Zulum visited the injured in the hospital and offered them cash compensation. Zulum has voiced worry over the resurgence of Boko Haram attacks and kidnappings across the state.
Today's attack comes amid renewed violent operations in the Lake Chad region by Boko Haram terrorists who have stepped up planting IEDs and ambushes on both civilian and military convoys using major roads in the region.
On March 21, four passengers were killed and four others injured when an IED exploded under a commercial vehicle in the Biu area of Borno.