Five killed in suicide explosion in Borno

No fewer than five people, including a plain-cloth police officer, were killed on Thursday after a suicide bomber driving a van loaded with firewood detonated heavily wired vehicle at a security checkpoint in Konduga town, witnesses said.
The witnesses, who would not want to be named for security reasons, said the suicide bomber simply detonated the explosive as the curious members of the civilian-Joint Task Force, JTF, were trying to search the vehicle before allowing it to pass.
Several persons were also injured in the blast.
A security source in Maiduguri, while confirming the explosion, said “there was a blast targeted at the members of the Civilian-JTF manning a checkpoint in Konduga, about five persons were reportedly killed and several others injured.”
The civilian JTF, made up of youth from Borno State, has assisted security forces to battle the Boko Haram insurgents. The insurgents have killed thousands of people since 2009.
The Boko Haram attacks have continued despite a state of emergency declared on Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe since May last year.