21 die, 27 wounded in Damaturu bomb attack

Latest reports said no fewer than 21 people have died in the latest bomb attack at a TV viewing centre, in Damaturu, capital of Yobe state, north east Nigeria.
Several pick-up trucks carrying bodies arrived at the Sani Abacha Specialist hospital in northeast Nigeria, hospital sources said Tuesday night, after an explosion ripped through the TV centre where football fans had gathered to watch a World Cup match.
The attack was believed to have been carried out by Boko Haram insurgents.
“We received 21 dead bodies and 27 injured victims from the blast,” said the source at the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital after the explosion in the Nayi-Nama area of the city on Tuesday night. Local residents said the bomb appeared to have been hidden in a motorised rickshaw outside the venue, where crowds had gathered to watch tournament hosts Brazil play Mexico on large screens.
The blast was the latest in a series at football viewing centres in Nigeria blamed on Boko Haram militants, who have been waging a deadly insurgency in the country’s north since 2009. Football is Nigeria’s national sport and has a fanatical following but recent blasts targeting fans in northeastern Adamawa and the central state of Plateau have seen the authorities close big screen venues on security grounds. Read more pmnewsnigeria.com