← Back to explorer
Bombing/IED Coordinated Suicide Bombing NNG0577

Two female suicide bombers carried out coordinated attacks in the Mashamari community of Borno State, according to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) Chief Security Officer, Bello Danbatta. The first attacker detonated an explosive device near a mosque as residents were preparing for evening prayers. Moments later, the second bomber detonated inside a nearby residential house. The attacks left three people dead and seven others injured.

27 May 2018 · Mashamari area, Konduga, Borno

Deaths

3

Injured

7

Kidnapped

0

Total casualties

10

Perpetrators

Boko Haram

Response

Borno State Commissioner of Police Damian Chukwu confirmed the attack and stated that the Police Explosive Ordnance Device Corps had been deployed to the area

Displacement

0

Socioeconomic drivers

Using the After-Action Confusion of the first blast to allow the second bomber to move closer to responders.

Trajectory

By mid-2018, the insurgents had largely lost the ability to hold territory in Konduga, so they pivoted to suicide infiltration to prove the military could not guarantee safety even within liberated towns.

Cycle notes

Mirrored earlier Boko Haram attacks including 02 December 2017 – Biu market double-blast targeting civilians and responders, 01 May 2018 – Mubi twin suicide attacks on mosque and market, 15 August 2017 – Mandarari coordinated bombings across civilian تجمع points, 11 July 2017 – attack on mourners following earlier killings, and 18 June 2017 – coordinated suicide bombings targeting mosques and residential areas, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Boko Haram employs sequential, multi-stage suicide attacks—often involving female bombers—to exploit initial blast confusion and strike responders or nearby civilians, maximizing casualties and psychological impact in “liberated” communities.

Pattern

Female teenage suicide bomber deployment

Sources