Female suicide bombers targeted a wedding, a hospital, and a funeral in a series of coordinated terrorist attacks in northern Nigeria that killed over 30 people, according to local authorities on June 30th.

A series of suicide attacks in Nigeria, targeting a wedding ceremony, a hospital, and a funeral, have claimed the lives of at least 18 people and left dozens more injured. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the explosions pic.twitter.com/YzPVKsVKoa

— RT (@RT_com) June 30, 2024

According to Barkindo Saidu, director-general of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, the first female suicide bomber detonated an explosive device during a marriage celebration in the northeastern town of Gwoza, an area formerly controlled by the notorious Boko Haram for 15 years.

Just minutes after the attack, Saidu added, another blast occurred in an area near a general hospital, and the third suicide bomber disguised as a mourner at a funeral service for the victims of the earlier bombing. Reports of the bombings were also confirmed by Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima. The suicide bombings in Borno State killed 32 people and wounded several others.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu condemned the attacks, describing them in his statement as “desperate acts of terror” and “an isolated episode.”

The Terrorists, Bandits and killer Herdsmen are the FULANI.

From the Hot Wild desert, their natural Home, they trooped out to seek "Islamic" state in Nigeria. But this they must not get here, come booms and Doom's of Terror and War

They must go back to their natural Home

— Chigozie Eke (@eke_chigoz15911) July 1, 2024

The resurgence of suicide bombings in Borno State put a swift end to the rare peace in violence that has plagued the region for decades and raised concerns about the security situation in the region. Local authorities imposed a curfew in response to the increasing violence. 

Gwoza is near the city of Chibok, which made headlines in 2014 after Boko Haram, an armed Islamist organization based in northeastern Nigeria, abducted 276 schoolgirls, with nearly 100 of the girls still in captivity. Since 2009, the group has launched a deadly insurgency in northeast Nigeria that has spilled across borders around Lake Chad, killed 35,000 people, displaced millions, and created a humanitarian crisis. 

Though no organization immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, they are similar to bombings carried out by Boko Haram. While other armed terrorist groups, such as Al Shabaab in East Africa and the Taliban in Afghanistan, have used female suicide bombers in the past, Boko Haram has used them more extensively to carry out attacks. 

That's what Islam brings to your country

— Ango (@Black_Rubro75) July 1, 2024

The group has a history of kidnapping young girls, holding them hostage, and forcing them to strap on explosives before sending them on suicide missions. Research by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point found that Boko Haram deployed women as suicide bombers in over half of its operations, including suicide missions from April 2011 to June 2017. 

Experts said armed groups such as Boko Haram often employ women as suicide bombers because they consider them less valuable to the organization and more tactically advantageous.

“The women arouse less suspicious, and they are able to penetrate targets more deeply,” Mia Bloom, a professor of communication at Georgia State University and an expert on female suicide bombers, said. 

Dont hold your breath for any university tent encampment protests...

— smiksteel (@smiksteelers) June 30, 2024

She added that terrorist groups often use women when targeting civilians or civic infrastructure because they can “blend in” and are less likely to be perceived as threats. In addition, Professor Bloom said some groups believe that women are easier to manipulate. 

Many of the women turned into suicide bombers, she said, have most likely been sexually assaulted and are traumatized. While some women may have been radicalized, others believe “they have a better chance of survival as a bomber than marrying a Boko fighter.”