Four worshipers were killed in a suicide bombing at a mosque in northern Cameroon on Monday, a security source said, five days after a similar attack left 12 people dead.
Monday’s blast hit the village of Nguetchewe in Cameroon’s Far North region, in an area near the border with Nigeria regularly targeted by Boko Haram jihadists.
“The toll of this attack is four dead and two injured,” the source, who was at the scene of the attack, told AFP.
A source close to regional authorities confirmed that a deadly attack had taken place in Nguetchewe, but was unable to provide details.
The security source said the attack took place around 6:00 am (0500 GMT) just as morning prayers were ending.
“The suicide bomber, a young boy, arrived in the village by foot,” the source said, adding that a witness had noticed his behaviour seemed suspicious and had tried to intercept him.
“The bomber ran towards the mosque, where he set off the explosives he was carrying with him.”
Cameroonian troops are at the scene of the attack, the source said.
It is the second deadly blast to hit the Far North in less than a week, following a bombing at a mosque in Kolofata district during morning prayers last Wednesday.
In November 2013, French priest Georges Vandenbeusch was kidnapped from Nguetchewe, with the Boko Haram Islamist group claiming responsibility. He was freed after around 50 days in captivity.
Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said Friday that nearly 1,200 people have been killed in the Far North since 2013, when Boko Haram began attacking Cameroonian territory bordering its northeast Nigerian stronghold.
Cameroon boosted its military presence along the Nigerian border in 2013, under increasing pressure from the jihadists on the other side of the border.
Boko Haram, which has waged a six-year campaign for a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, has been using the Far North as a base for supplying weapons, vehicles and equipment.
Along with Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Benin, Cameroon is part of a regional military force fighting the jihadists, who have killed at least 17,000 people and made more than 2.6 million others homeless.
On Wednesday last week, a suicide bomber killed 13 worshippers and wounded at least one in an attack on a mosque also in northern Cameroon.
Officials said last week’s attack was suspected to have been carried out by terror group, Boko Haram.
Cameroonian troops form part of an 8,700-strong regional force created to battle Boko Haram.
The United States recently disclosed plans to send military supplies and troops to the Central African country to aid the fight.
“The suicide attack took place at 5.40am (04.40 GMT) in a mosque at Kouyape. There were 13 deaths, including the man, who blew himself up and one wounded,” said a senior local official, who declined to be identified.
The suicide bomber, who struck at the mosque, was said to be praying alongside worshippers when he blew himself up, a security source told AFP.
“Twelve worshippers were killed at the scene. Another died of his wounds in the hospital,” the source added.
The bombing came after two people were killed overnight in the same area in another attack.
Another source close to the security services confirmed that the blast killed 13 persons including the bomber.
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