At least 11 people have died Monday when a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, the second attack on the city this month.
The blast occurred after “terrorists” refused to surrender to police in the Ndjari neighborhood in N’Djamena, interior ministry spokesman Laouna Sangue said by phone.
The dead include five policemen, he said. Police spokesman Paul Manga said five militants and an informant were also killed. “They detonated their explosives when they were spotted by the police,” Mr Manga said.
He identified one of the organisers of the attack as Elhadj Oumar and said that Mahama Gueni, the deputy director of economic affairs in the judicial police, was among the victims.
Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamist militant group, in January threatened to attack Chad for joining a multinational force to fight the insurgents. Chad’s government says it has killed hundreds of Boko Haram fighters since deploying its troops in January.
On June 15th, suicide bombers who attacked police facilities in N’Djamena killed at least 38 people. Chadian authorities handed over debris collected after those attacks to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for analysis, the state prosecutor said Monday.
One of three people suspected of the mid-June bombings has been identified, while about 60 people were questioned including Cameroonian, Nigerian, Malian and Chadian nationals.