Nigeria, Maiduguri: Yesterday, according to military and emergency officials, a attack by two female suicide bombers killed more than 60 people at a camp for people displaced by an insurgency of the Boko Haram group in the northeast Nigerian town of Dikwa. The attack occurred 85 km outside the capital of Borno state, centre of the seven-year insurgency, they said. It took place on Tuesday, but a breakdown in the telephone system prevented the incident being made public earlier.

The two female suicide bombers sneaked into an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp and detonated themselves in the middle of it, emergency officials and the military source said. The chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency, Satomi Ahmad, added that 78 people were injured. No group claimed responsibility but the attack bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which has frequently used female bombers and even children to hit targets. The militant group has recently increased the frequency and deadliness of attacks with three at the end of January. At least 65 people were killed outside Borno state capital Maiduguri on January 31.