At least 19 people have been killed and dozens wounded after a female suicide bomber blew herself up on Saturday, a local official told Reuters.
The new incident happened outside a bar in the Pont Vert district of the town, the BBC cited military sources as saying late Saturday, adding that officials suspect the violent jihadist group Boko Haram to be behind this string of suicide attacks.
Happening Now.URGENT Double Blasts Hit #Cameroon City of #Maraoua Sat Morning Local Time Dozens feared dead via wires pic.twitter.com/QklEPwKneo
— Barmou Salifou (@BarmouSalif) July 25, 2015
Boko Haram began staging attacks across northeastern Nigeria in 2009 and expanded its reach to Cameroon in 2013, moving on to Chad and Niger in 2015. Extremists strive for establishing an Islamic state ruled by the Sharia law in the region.
Boko Haram, which in Hausa means "western education is forbidden," was initially associated with al-Qaeda before it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant group in March 2015, and changed name to Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP).
