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Officials
used containers of water to try and put out the flames
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A
female suicide bomber killed herself Monday when she exploded a vehicle packed
with explosives near a stadium where Nigeria's president had just held an
election rally in the northeastern city of Gombe, police said. There were no
other casualties.
Media reports that the
explosion occurred in a near-empty area about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the
venue, which President Goodluck Jonathan had just left, said Deputy
Superintendent Fwaje Atajiri.
Two
other suicide bombings in Gombe city on Sunday injured a few people but killed
only the bombers, he said. A couple sharing a bicycle blew themselves up at a
central traffic circle and a man blew himself up at a timber market. All three
bombers died, Atajiri said.
No
one immediately claimed responsibility. Most suicide bombings are blamed on
Boko Haram Islamic extremists who are against democracy and have vowed to
disrupt the Feb. 14 elections for president, state governors and legislators in
Nigeria, Africa's richest and most populous nation.
The
attacks come as the International Criminal Court's prosecutor urged all
contestants to refrain from violence before, during and after the vote, with
analysts saying the presidential contest is too close to call.
Prosecutor
Fatou Bensouda said she would send a team to Nigeria before the election,
noting "Experience has shown that electoral competition, when gone astray,
can give rise to violence and in the worst-case scenarios, even trigger the
commission of mass crimes that shock the conscience of humanity."
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