Cameroon arrests three Boko Haram suspects carrying explosives

(Baonghean.vn) - Cameroonian officials have arrested three suspects carrying a bag containing an explosive device in the northern town of Maroua - where a series of suicide attacks suspected to be carried out by Boko Haram killed at least 40 people last week.

Boko Haram militant group

“According to their identification documents, the suspect who had the bag with the explosives was Nigerian. The other two were Cameroonians,” a local government official said by phone from Maroua, adding that the suspects were young, around 20 years old, and suspected of belonging to Boko Haram, the group that has been planning the recent attacks.

Cameroon has stepped up military deployments and tightened security in the northern part of the capital after a series of suicide bombings suspected to have been carried out by Boko Haram infiltrators from neighboring Nigeria.

Cameroonian security officials also carried out a raid on Thursday in Kousseri, about 140 miles north of Maroua, where about 2,000 undocumented Nigerians have crossed the border and are living in Cameroon. A local official said the raids were aimed at improving security and controlling movement in the border area.

On Thursday, after a summit in Yaounde, the leaders of both countries also pledged to work together to fight the uprising that has killed thousands of people and prevent the spread of militant forces that threaten stability in neighboring countries.

Phuong Thao (According to Reuters)