Terrorism In Africa: Dog Stops Suicide Bombing At Wedding, Saves Lives Of Bride, Groom And Guests

A dog saved the lives of a bride, groom and guests as it wrestled with a female suicide bomber at a Nigerian wedding party in the city of Maiduguri on Sunday. In the midst of the grappling, the explosives detonated, killing the heroic dog and the would-be attacker.

"A female suicide bomber with [an improvised explosive device] strapped to her body attempted to infiltrate a wedding ceremony gathering in Belbelo community of Jere," said Victor Isuku, a spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force in Borno State. "She was however prevented by a watch dog, so she had to detonate the IED to kill herself and the dog. The dog was owned by a resident in the locality."

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Isuku said the incident occurred at around 7:30 a.m. and that the female bomber was only a teenager. It was not clear whether the dog was trained to detect bombs, but a villager, Buba Ahmed, said guests were thankful for the dog’s intervention, the Associated Press reported.

There were no other deaths reports, but one civilian was injured.

Shortly after the incident, everything went back to normal, Isuku told Nigeria’s Premium Times, adding, "no further casualty was recorded apart from the dog."

Islamic State group-affiliated Boko Haram militants have engaged in suicide attacks in the area before. It was not immediately clear if the suicide bomber was a part of either or any terrorist group.

Boko Haram has become widely known for appointing female suicide bombers. A few hours before the incident on Sunday, three suicide bombers blew themselves up not too far from where the wedding occurred. Local media said that act was carried out by Boko Haram militants.

In December, two girls around the age of 7 and 8, reportedly blew themselves up in a market in Maiduguri, killing themselves and injuring at least 17 people. Shortly after, a 10-year-old girl blew herself up on New Year’s Eve. Only one person was injured, but no one else died.

"The girl was clearly not more than 10 and this could have made her too nervous, making her to detonate the explosives prematurely," an aid worker said.

Boko Haram was deemed to be deadlier than ISIS, according to an NBC News report last year.