Female suicide bombers killed at least 18 people and wounded 30 others in a series of coordinated attacks at a wedding, funeral and hospital in Nigeria.
The victims included children and pregnant women, an official told reporters during a news briefing Sunday.
"The degree of injuries ranges from abdominal ruptures, skull fractures, and limb fractures," said Barkindo Saidu, director general of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, Reuters reported.
The gruesome incidents took place Saturday in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, where Islamist insurgents have killed thousands of people over the past 15 years.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the carnage.
But Boko Haram, an extremist Islamic group branded a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government, and an offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province, are the most active militants in Borno, Reuters said.
Boko Haram has used women and girls as suicide bombers in the past, fueling suspicion that some were among thousands of people, including schoolchildren, kidnapped by the extremists, according to the Associated Press.
The first blast Saturday took place during a marriage celebration in the town of Gwoza, which is near the border with Cameroon, Saidu said, according to AP.
"Minutes later, another blast occurred near General Hospital," he said.
The third attack, at a funeral service, reportedly involved a bomber disguised as a mourner.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu called the attacks "desperate acts of terror."
Officials imposed a curfew in Gwoza, which is near the border with Cameroon and about 60 miles east of Chibok, where 276 schoolgirls were kidnapped in 2014.
Nearly 100 are still being held captive, according to AP.
