Boko Haram Uses 10-Year-Old Girl for Suicide Attack, Killing 20

According to Nigerian security officials, the extremist Islamist group Boko Haram killed 20 people and injured 20 others by attaching a bomb to a 10-year-old girl and detonating it in a crowded market. Reuters reported on January 9, citing a police official, that explosive materials were wrapped around the girl's body. The explosion occurred in Borno State, a region where Boko Haram has conducted various operations and has frequently been the scene of bomb blasts and suicide attacks. While Reuters initially estimated the death toll at 16, The New York Times later reported at least 20 fatalities from the attack that took place on Saturday afternoon. Previously, reports had emerged about the use of women abducted by Boko Haram for deadly attacks. Human Rights Watch stated last November that this group, which repeatedly kidnaps children, teenagers, and women, not only rapes women but also uses them in armed activities or to kill others. The suicide attack on Saturday occurred a day after Amnesty International reported the discovery of hundreds of bodies that have not yet been fully counted in Nigeria. These individuals were killed by Boko Haram, and their bodies were abandoned in the deserts of northern Nigeria. A senior government official in the region stated that most victims are women, children, and elderly individuals who managed to escape during the militants' attack on the city. The Council on Foreign Relations, based in New York, reported that over 10,000 people were victims of violence in Nigeria last year.