At least three people were killed and 19 seriously injured on Tuesday (April 19th) after a bomb exploded in a bar in northeast Nigeria, police told AFP.
The explosive device went off as large numbers of people gathered at a bar popular for its craft alcohol, near a cattle market in the village of Iware, Taraba state.
"Three people were killed and 19 seriously injured in the blast
," Taraba state police spokesman Usman Abdullahi told AFP.
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"The explosive was placed by people who have not yet been identified
," continued Usman Abdullahi, adding that an investigation is underway to
"unmask the perpetrators of this despicable act"
.
Taraba State, like many states in the northwest and center of the country, is the scene of criminal gangs, known locally as
"bandits"
, who attack villages, loot, kidnap and kill the inhabitants.
Although residents have blamed this new attack on
"bandits"
, Usman Abdullahi recalled that it is still premature "to point accusing fingers".
The use of explosives by these criminal groups is however rare and more reminiscent of the modus operandi of the jihadists who rage in the northeast, known in particular for having attacked bars in the past.
Criminal gangs, on the other hand, act for financial reasons without ideological claims.
But the infiltration of jihadists within them raises many concerns.
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At the end of March, armed men launched a major attack on a train by derailing it with explosives.
At least eight people were killed in the assault and a significant number of passengers were abducted by the kidnappers who targeted the train's VIP compartment.
According to the authorities, jihadists and bandits joined forces to carry out this attack.
The bandits, designated as “terrorists” by authorities since the start of the year, operate from hidden camps in a vast forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states.