At least eight people were killed and more than a dozen injured on Saturday when a roadside bomb, allegedly planted by Boko Haram insurgents, struck a passenger bus along the Damboa-Maiduguri highway in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria.
According to a statement by Borno State police spokesperson Nahum Daso, the explosive device detonated as the bus passed through a conflict-prone area plagued by years of extremist violence.
Boko Haram, a designated terrorist organization, launched its insurgency in 2009 to impose a radical form of Islamic law. The conflict has claimed over 35,000 lives and displaced more than 2 million people, according to the United Nations.
Although the group has lost control of large territories in the region, it continues to conduct ambushes and attacks in areas with limited security presence, raising renewed concerns among residents and travelers in the region.