Two female suicide bombers infiltrated Mafa town by blending in with a group of local women who had gone to fetch firewood for cooking. The assailants waited until the evening to launch their attack, detonating explosives among the crowd. The twin blasts killed three civilians and wounded eight others. The two bombers also died in the attack.
6 Aug 2019 · Mafa, Mafa, Borno
Deaths
3
Injured
8
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
11
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Bello Danbatta, head of security for the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), confirmed the attack and casualty figures. The injured were evacuated to the Maiduguri Specialist Hospital for treatment
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
By mimicking the daily economic activities of local women (firewood gathering), the bombers bypassed security checks at the town's perimeter.
Trajectory
By late 2019, as military checkpoints became more rigid, the Shekau faction returned to using women and girls to exploit the Gender Gap in security searches, particularly during communal resource gathering.
Cycle notes
Mrrored earlier attacks including 29 January 2016 – Gombi market attack using female suicide bombers in civilian disguise, 26 December 2016 – Maiduguri suicide attacks targeting crowded urban populations, 07 February 2017 – NNPC Mega Station infiltration attempt by disguised female bombers, 26 September 2017 – Dikwa mosque bombing by a female attacker during prayers, and 04 May 2018 – Mainari village coordinated female suicide attacks on residential areas, collectively reflecting a recurring pattern in which Boko Haram deploys female operatives who blend into routine civilian activities—such as trading, worship, or firewood collection—to bypass security layers and detonate in high-density gathering points, exploiting gender-based screening gaps to sustain asymmetric urban and peri-urban attacks.
Pattern
Female teenage suicide bomber deployment
Related — Bombing/IED
Boko Haram carried out its most intense attack on Maiduguri in months, targeting vulnerable displaced persons and a key transportation hub. In the first phase of the attack, three female suicide bombers detonated explosives at Muna Garage, destroying vehicles and trucks loaded with goods destined for export to Chad and nearby border communities. In the second phase, soldiers opened fire on gunmen riding motorcycles who were escorting other suicide bombers, resulting in the deaths of at least six additional bombers.
A male suicide bomber with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strapped to his body approached a patrol team of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Security forces attempted to gun him down, but he detonated his explosives. The blast killed the bomber, a police officer, and a civilian. Four SARS personnel and seven other civilians were injured. A second would-be suicide bomber was killed by security forces before he could detonate
A female suicide bomber arrived at the home of the chairman of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) and knocked on his door. When the commander refused to open the door, the bomber detonated her explosive vest. The blast killed a bystander and two other persons (possibly individuals heading to the mosque for early morning prayers) and injured two others.