ABUJA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- A suicide attack in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno claimed four lives late Saturday, local police confirmed to Xinhua on Sunday.
A woman, her two children, and a night watchman were killed in the attack at Umarari village located five kilometers south of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, according to police spokesman Victor Isuku.
Eight local residents were injured in the night attack.
The police spokesman said three suicide bombers, one male and two females, detonated their explosive devices while confronting security forces in an attempt to gain access to Maiduguri through Umarari village.
The attackers were sighted by civilians assisting local security forces and challenged them, he said, adding they detonated the improvised explosive devices strapped to their bodies while running to different directions.
Last June, more than 22 people died in a suicide attack perpetrated by two female bombers in Umarari village which lies along Molai General Area in the northern state capital.
Terror group Boko Haram, which is blamed for more than 20,000 deaths and displacement of 2.3 million people since 2009, is suspected to be responsible for the Saturday attack.
Nigeria has made a considerable gain on the Boko Haram front, with its security forces operating in the restive region dislodging the Boko Haram fighters from the Sambisa Forest, the group's largest training camp in the country, last December.
The security forces are intensifying aerial and ground patrols in the country's northeast, extending their offensive mission around the Green Belt Region near Niger and Chad.
