15 killed in suicide bomb attacks in north Cameroon

Two suicide bombings carried out by Islamic extremists in northern Cameroon have killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens, authorities said today.

The attacks late yesterday hit a video club and a mosque near Cameroon’s border with Nigeria, said Midjiyawa Bakary, governor of Cameroon’s Far North region. At least 50 people were wounded, he said.

Boko Haram has killed at least 480 civilians in Cameroon since the extremist group significantly increased attacks there starting in July 2015, Amnesty International said today.

Northern Cameroon has suffered more than 200 attacks blamed on Boko Haram in that time, including nearly 40 suicide bombings in the Far North region, the rights group said.

One of yesterday’s two suicide bombings was carried out by a young boy in the town of Limani, killing at least 11 people, Amnesty International said.

“This horrific suicide bombing is just the latest in a series of attacks against civilians and demonstrates once again Boko Haram’s total disregard for human life.

It illustrates the threat posed by Boko Haram in the Far North of Cameroon and across the Lake Chad region,” said Alioune Tine, the group’s regional director for West and Central Africa.

The Nigeria-based Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group last year. Since then, its members have stepped up attacks in Cameroon and other neighboring countries that have been helping Nigeria’s military to try to defeat the extremists.