At least 23 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in suspected suicide bombings that targeted Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, on Monday night.
The attacks are one of the deadliest incidents in the conflict-battered city's recent history.
Residents and emergency services reported three explosions in crowded areas across the Borno state capital, including a major market and the entrance of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
Borno police spokesperson Nahum Kenneth Daso confirmed the casualties, stating: "Regrettably, a total of 23 persons lost their lives, while 108 others sustained varying degrees of injuries," blaming suspected suicide bombers.
No group has claimed responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on the jihadi group Boko Haram, which launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2009 to enforce its radical interpretation of Shariah.
Boko Haram has since grown stronger, with thousands of fighters and various factions, including the Islamic State West Africa Province, backed by the Islamic State group.
Maiduguri city has been at the heart of the deadly violence but has in recent years experienced relative peace even as the countryside is often battered by extremists.
The attack took place less than 24 hours after the Nigerian military repelled attacks by militants on the outskirts of Maiduguri, in what some residents say could have been planned as a distraction.
By Tuesday morning, there was heavy security deployment in the affected locations and along major roads in the city, but many public places remained closed amid heightened fear.
“Investigations are ongoing to further ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incidents and to bring perpetrators to justice,” the Borno police command said.
The first explosion was recorded at about 7:30 p.m. at the entrance of the teaching hospital, while the second and third followed few minutes later at the popular Monday Market and nearby Post Office business hub, both located about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the hospital.
Witnesses recounted the chaos that followed at the scenes and at hospitals as security forces and the emergency services quickly intervened.
“This attack has been one of the deadliest in Maiduguri in years,” said Mohammed Hassan, a member of a volunteer group assisting security forces in fighting extremists. “We’re in dire need of blood,” he said of the situation hours after the attack.
The extremists have intensified their attacks against Nigerian military bases in recent weeks, killing several senior officers and soldiers, and stripping the bases of stocks of weaponry and ammunition.
The multiple attacks could be seen as a major victory for the jihadis in a city seen as impregnable despite the jihadis often targeting troops and villages on the outskirts of the city.
Past attacks in the city have been limited to one-off incidents that occur once in a long while, including a suicide attack that killed five at a mosque on Christmas Eve last year.
“Maiduguri being attacked is like an insult for the security forces ... and for the (jihadi) groups, it is symbolic because it shows nowhere is out of their reach,” said Malik Samuel, a Nigerian security researcher with Good Governance Africa.
Explosions rocked crowded places almost simultaneously
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