Child Bombers Become Militant Weapon as Nigeria Presses Assault
- United Nations cites ‘worrying increase’ in use of children
- Most child bombers this year have been girls, Unicef Says
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Children as young as nine are being used as bombers by Boko Haram as Nigeria’s army presses its campaign to destroy one of Africa’s deadliest Islamist militant groups.
Boko Haram, which has declared allegiance to Islamic State, has sent waves of so-called suicide bombers, including women and children, to northeastern towns to detonate explosives at checkpoints, markets and mosques. Last month two teenage girls touched off explosives near a mosque at the University of Maiduguri in the Borno state capital, killing four people including themselves and injuring 17 others.