At least 21 people were killed and several injured on Friday when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the crowd at a Shiite Muslim procession in the north Nigerian village of Dakasoye. The march was organised by followers of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, reported AFP. One of the organisers of the march said that the bomber ran into the crowd before he could be spotted and detonated his explosives.

“He was dressed in black like everyone else. His accomplice was initially arrested and confessed they were sent by Boko Haram,” he said. The bomber detonated his explosives after realising his accomplice had been arrested, the organiser added.

The story so far:

  • Sunni militant group Boko Haram, which wants to create a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria, has previously been blamed for attacks on Shia Muslims in the region, said AFP. A six-year insurgency by the group has left at least 17,000 people dead and more than 2.6 million homeless.
  • Last November, at least 15 people were killed and 50 others injured in a suicide bombing targeting the Shia Muslim festival of Ashura in the city of Potiskum. 
  • In April, a suicide bomber targeted a group of Shia Muslims outside a mosque in Potiskum, killing himself and wounding three others.