The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), affiliated to the Islamic State terrorist group, has claimed responsibility for a devastating bomb explosion that occured on Tuesday at a market in the north central Nigerian State of Taraba.
Though the Nigerian government and military authorities said seven people were killed in the blast, the terrorists say more than 30 people lost their lives while dozens of others were injured in the explosion.
The explosion took place at a local market in a rural community known as Iware, with local police initially saying only three people were killed and 19 injured, before the military said the death toll had risen to seven.
However, the extremist group said it killed 30 people at a drinking joint in the market where alcohol was sold, marking an expansion of its operation beyond the north east into the north central of Nigeria.
In a statement posted on Thursday on a Telegram channel used by Islamic State to distribute its propaganda, the insurgents said it was responsible for the attack and described those who detonated the bomb in the market as “soldiers of the caliphate in central Nigeria.”
“Soldiers of the caliphate struck a gathering of infidel Christians and sent them to hell,” part of the statement said.
Residents and eyewitnesses said a local drinking spot selling beer and local brew was targeted in the attack, with one resident saying he counted nine dead bodies, while another said he had seen several dead including two women.
The northeast of Nigeria, especially Borno and Yobe States, have been the epicenter of the Islamist insurgencies for over a decade, beginning first with Boko Haram, before the infiltration of the IS-affiliated ISWAP.
And with the attack in Taraba which is located in Nigeria’s middle belt central region, the Islamic State insurgents are gradually expanding into other territories.