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Nigeria college in Kontagora 'hit by suicide bombing' | Nigeria college in Kontagora 'hit by suicide bombing' |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A female suicide bomber has blown herself up at a college in northern Nigeria, killing at least three people, witnesses say. | |
The explosion went off outside a packed lecture hall at the college in Kontagora town, the witnesses added. | |
Casualty figures are unclear, but lecturer Andrew Randa told the BBC he had seen four bodies. | |
This is the second suicide attack on a school this week - on Monday, 46 boys were killed in Yobe State. | |
Militant Islamist group Boko Haram is waging an insurgency in Nigeria. | Militant Islamist group Boko Haram is waging an insurgency in Nigeria. |
It has not commented on the blast in Kontagora, some 240km (150 miles) from the capital, Abuja. | |
The group has declared a caliphate, or Islamic state, in areas it controls in the north-east. | The group has declared a caliphate, or Islamic state, in areas it controls in the north-east. |
It has carried out a spate of bombings and assassinations in northern Nigeria since launching its campaign in 2009. | It has carried out a spate of bombings and assassinations in northern Nigeria since launching its campaign in 2009. |
Who are Boko Haram? | Who are Boko Haram? |
Nigeria's female bombers strike | Nigeria's female bombers strike |
What now after ceasefire fiasco? | What now after ceasefire fiasco? |
Mr Randa said he heard a deafening blast and then there was pandemonium as people ran away from the scene. | Mr Randa said he heard a deafening blast and then there was pandemonium as people ran away from the scene. |
Soldiers rushed to the college and sealed off the area, he said. | Soldiers rushed to the college and sealed off the area, he said. |
BBC Nigeria analyst Isa Sanusi says this is the first time Boko Haram has been blamed for an attack in Kontagora, a major town in Nigeria's Niger state. | |
If it is confirmed that the group carried out the attack, it would suggest that it has extended its reach to a new area, he says. | |
The bomb seemed to have exploded prematurely, as the bomber was still trying to gain entry into the lecture hall when it detonated, one witness told the BBC Hausa service. | |
Three of the four bodies he had seen were those of women, and some had been decapitated, Mr Randa added. | |
Other witnesses said the bomber died in the blast, and there were many casualties. | Other witnesses said the bomber died in the blast, and there were many casualties. |
At least seven people were wounded and rushed to hospital, they said. | |
Boko Haram is opposed to Western education, and believes that Muslim boys and girls should only receive an Islamic education. | Boko Haram is opposed to Western education, and believes that Muslim boys and girls should only receive an Islamic education. |