At least 9 killed in blast on Cameroon-Nigeria border

ANKARA

At least nine people were killed and dozens injured when a bomb exploded in a crowded marketplace on a bridge along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon, Nigerian newspaper The Punch said Monday.

The daily said 21 Nigerians and five Cameroonians were injured in the blast on El Beid bridge, which separates the town of Gambaru in Nigeria from Fotokol in Cameroon.

The bomb reportedly exploded around 1520 GMT on the Nigerian side of the bridge.

The BNO News site, citing local officials, said at least 30 people were killed in the blast and 35 others were injured. They were taken to a local hospital.

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, local media believed the Boko Haram terrorist organization was behind it.

Fotokol is among the towns where Boko Haram has carried out the most attacks in Cameroon.

The Central African nation has been battling the insurgent group in the north since 2014.

The UNHCR refugee agency estimates that approximately 26 million people in the Lake Chad region have been affected by Boko Haram violence and more than 2.6 million displaced.