ABUJA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 34 people were killed and 18 others wounded following a twin explosion and a grenade attack in Nigeria's northeastern town of Damboa, local officials said on Sunday.
The blasts were followed by another rocket-propelled grenade attack on people who gathered at the scene of the explosions to help the victims, a local official said on condition of anonymity.
Damboa is a local government area in Borno, located 88 km to the capital city of Maiduguri.
The official said the twin blasts occurred on Saturday night as some residents of the town were returning home from a live screening of a football match between Nigeria and Croatia at the ongoing Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.
However, it is not yet clear if most of the victims were the football fans.
Mohammed Abulam, a militia leader, told Xinhua that 10 people were killed and five wounded in the initial suicide attacks by two male bombers.
"We counted 24 more people and 13 others wounded following the rocket-propelled grenade attack," Abulam said, suspecting terror group Boko Haram of being responsible for the attack.
Authorities in Nigeria are yet to react officially to the incident, but a security source told Xinhua the police are aware of the attack.
On May 15, the Nigerian army launched a four-month operation to totally defeat Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region.
The army said the operation was to ensure the destruction of Boko Haram terrorist camps and strong points in the Lake Chad Basin general area.
Earlier on Saturday, at an inauguration ceremony for gunboats by the military, Army chief Tukur Buratai said Boko Haram fighters were no longer a threat in Nigeria's northeast, urging Borno residents "to return to their communities which have long been liberated by our gallant troops."
Boko Haram has been blamed for the death of more than 20,000 people and displacement of 2.3 million others in Nigeria since 2009.
