Suspected suicide bomber kills 12 in Nigeria's Borno state
Borno state police spokesperson Nahum Kenneth Daso said in a statement that a woman with an improvised explosive device strapped to her body, infiltrated a crowd at the fish market before detonating it among civilians.
Daso said those injured were taken to hospital.
Local residents said at least 30 people were injured.
Borno state is the heartland of an insurgency - primarily driven by the Islamist armed group Boko Haram - that has been raging for the past 16 years, killing thousands and displacing at least 2 million people, according to aid agencies. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
22 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Gaza civil defence says Israeli fire kills 57 aid seekers
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Injured victims of Israeli fire being taken to the Red Cross field hospital in the southern Gaza Strip on July 20. GAZA CITY - Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians waiting to collect humanitarian aid in the territory's north on July 20, killing 57 people and wounding dozens more. Further to the south, the Israeli military ordered Palestinians to leave Deir el-Balah, in the centre of the Strip, before launching its first operations against Hamas militants in the area. Pope Leo XIV, meanwhile, called for peace in Gaza days after Israeli tank fire hit the territory's only Catholic church, killing three. Deaths of civilians seeking aid have become a regular occurrence, with the authorities in Gaza blaming Israeli fire as crowds facing chronic shortages of food and other essentials gather in huge numbers near aid centres. Qasem Abu Khater, 36, told AFP he had rushed to the Al-Sudaniya area of Gaza City in the hope of getting a bag of flour, joining a 'desperate' crowd of thousands. Flour packs for sale at a makeshift market in the Mawasi area of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on July 20. PHOTO: AFP 'There was deadly overcrowding and pushing – women, men and children,' said Mr Khater, who was displaced from Jabalia, north of the city. 'It felt like we were no longer alive, like we had no souls left. The tanks were firing shells randomly at us and Israeli sniper soldiers were shooting as if they were hunting animals in a forest,' he added. 'Dozens of people were martyred right before my eyes and no one could save anyone.' Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 'Israeli forces opened fire on civilians waiting for aid', and that 'dozens' were wounded. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the agency and other parties. Asked for comment, the military said it was looking into the latest reports of deaths. The army has maintained that it works to avoid harm to civilians, saying this month that it issued new instructions to its troops on the ground 'following lessons learned' from a spate of similar incidents. Papal call The war was sparked by Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023 , leading to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 58,895 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 17 expressed his regret to Pope Leo XIV after what he described as a 'stray' munition killed three people sheltering at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. At the end of the pope's Angelus prayer on July 20, the leader of the world's Catholics said the strike was part of the 'ongoing military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza'. 'I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians, as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,' he added. The Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, held mass at the Gaza church on July 20 after travelling to the territory on July 18. The Catholic Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, held mass at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City on July 20. PHOTO: AFP 'Expanding' operations Most of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war and there have been repeated evacuation calls across large parts of the coastal territory. On July 20, the Israeli military told residents and displaced Palestinians sheltering in the Deir el-Balah area to move south immediately. Israel was 'expanding its activities' against Hamas around Deir el-Balah, 'where it has not operated before', the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X. The announcement prompted concern from families of hostages held since Oct 7, 2023 that the Israeli offensive could harm their loved ones. They called in a statement for Israeli authorities to 'urgently explain to Israeli citizens and families what the fighting plan is and how exactly it protects the abductees who are still in Gaza'. Delegations from Israel and militant group Hamas have spent the last two weeks in indirect talks on a proposed 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and the release of 10 living hostages. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Johor Bahru collision claims lives of e-hailing driver and Singapore passenger
Find out what's new on ST website and app. JOHOR BAHRU - An e-hailing driver and his passenger from Singapore were killed after the car they were in crashed into a lorry here. Johor Baru North OCPD Asst Comm Balveer Singh said the incident was believed to have happened at 11.27am on July 20 when the car was heading towards Skudai from Johor Baru. 'The accident is believed to have occurred when the 48-year-old e-hailing driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the rear left side of a lorry. 'The driver sustained severe head injuries and died at the scene. 'Meanwhile, the passenger, a 27-year-old man from Singapore who also sustained serious head injuries, died while receiving treatment at the hospital,' he said in a statement here on July 20. He added that the lorry driver, a 28-year-old local man, was not injured. He said the case was being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act for causing death due to reckless and dangerous driving. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Priority for singles, higher quota for second-timer families to kick in from HDB's July BTO exercise Singapore 1 in 3 vapes here laced with etomidate; MOH working with MHA to list it as illegal drug: Ong Ye Kung Singapore 2-in-1 airport police robot on trial can patrol and serve as PMD with ride-hailing feature Asia Rains from Typhoon Wipha batter Hong Kong as it heads for mainland China Business Crypto exchange Tokenize to shut down Singapore operations Asia Tearful relatives await news of victims in Vietnam boat capsize Singapore ComfortDelDro to discipline driver who flung relative's wheelchair out of taxi Singapore Minor Issues: Why I didn't send my daughters to my brand-name primary school The Straits Times has reached out to Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for further comment. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Kenyan police arrest rights activist Mwangi over role in deadly protests
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi, who was detained upon arrival in Dar es Salaam to attend the first court appearance of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, and later released, reacts at a press conference in Nairobi, Kenya June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo NAIROBI - Kenyan police have arrested prominent human rights activist Boniface Mwangi and plan to arraign him on Monday on suspicion of facilitating "terrorist acts" linked to deadly anti-government protests last month, police said on Sunday. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said on X that detectives had arrested Mwangi at his home in Machakos County on Saturday and had seized "two unused tear gas canisters and one 7.62mm blank round", along with two mobile phones, a laptop and notebooks. In addition to the terrorism charges, Mwangi is also due to be arraigned for unlawful possession of ammunition, the X post said. A representative for Mwangi could not immediately be reached for comment. Hundreds of Kenyans took to the streets last month following the death in police custody of political blogger Albert Ojwang - reigniting a protest movement fuelled by anger over the cost of living and what activists say is police brutality and corruption. The government-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said 19 people were killed in the protests on June 25 that DCI referred to in its post about Mwangi. Another 31 people died when protests flared again on July 7, the commission said. The protesters are mostly young adults desperate for job opportunities who organise through social media channels. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Priority for singles, higher quota for second-timer families to kick in from HDB's July BTO exercise Singapore 1 in 3 vapes here laced with etomidate; MOH working with MHA to list it as illegal drug: Ong Ye Kung Singapore 2-in-1 airport police robot on trial can patrol and serve as PMD with ride-hailing feature Asia Rains from Typhoon Wipha batter Hong Kong as it heads for mainland China Business Crypto exchange Tokenize to shut down Singapore operations Asia Tearful relatives await news of victims in Vietnam boat capsize Singapore ComfortDelDro to discipline driver who flung relative's wheelchair out of taxi Singapore Minor Issues: Why I didn't send my daughters to my brand-name primary school Mwangi is a well-known activist who once ran for parliament on an anti-corruption platform. In May, he was arrested and deported from neighbouring Tanzania, where he had travelled to observe a hearing in a treason case against detained opposition leader Tundu Lissu. He said afterwards that members of the Tanzanian security forces had sexually assaulted him during his detention, and on Friday he filed a complaint at the East African Court of Justice in connection with those allegations. REUTERS