the military against Boko Haram told AFP on Monday.
Eight vigilantes were killed in
the first blast in the Igwanda area of the city at about 12:15 pm (1115
GMT) while two died in the second outside a tavern and brothel in the
Dorawa area.
There was no
immediate claim of responsibility but Potiskum, the commercial capital
of Yobe state, has been hit repeatedly by Boko Haram in its six-year
insurgency, including by suicide bombers.
The
first attack targeted the civilian vigilante office in the Igwanda area
of the city and came after a man seen carrying laptops and other
computer accessories was detained.
"We
suspected he was a thief and then when he couldn't explain how he came
about the things that were found on him, we took him to our office for
interrogation," said one vigilante group member.
"But we didn't know he had
explosives on him. He detonated the explosives and we lost eight men,
including our commander," said the vigilante, who asked not to be named
for his own safety.
A police
source in Potiskum confirmed the attack. "We took eight dead bodies of
the vigilante men to the hospital and the remains of the suicide
bomber."
The second blast
happened moments later in the Dorawa area of Potiskum at an open air
tavern and brothel that has previously been hit by the Islamists.
The
same police source said a man suspected to be a bomber was chased by an
angry mob and set off his explosives before he was caught.
"Two people have been confirmed dead," he added.
Boko
Haram are keen to prove they are not a spent force despite a
four-nation military offensive that has run them out of captured towns
and villages since February this year.
The
use of improvised explosive devices and suicide bombings has increased
since May 29, when President Muhammadu Buhari took office vowing to
crush the militants.
Source: AFP
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