Bomb attacks kill 17 in Nigeria

At least 17 persons were killed in two attacks in Nigerian states late Wednesday.

A police spokesperson in Gombe Fwaje Atajiri told Xinhua news agency over the phone that nine people lost their lives while several others sustained varying degrees of injury in two separate attacks that rocked the state.

In central north Plateau, eight persons lost their lives in two separate attacks in Barkin Ladi local government area of Plateau state.

Security sources and witnesses said one person was killed in his home, three in an ambush and four in a local beer parlour.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and its biggest economy, has witnessed an escalation of Boko Haram's bloody campaign, with several suicide bomb and gun attacks targeting places of worship, communities and public places, killing hundreds of people.

Many of the recent attacks have been carried out by suicide young women bombers.