Woman sets off suicide bomb after Nigerian presidential rally

GOMBE, Nigeria, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A third bombing in two days hit the Nigerian city of Gombe on Monday soon after President Goodluck Jonathan left a campaign rally.

Monday's bombing killed at least two women, one of them believed to be a suicide bomber, police said. While some reports described it as occurring near the stadium where the president spoke, a police spokesman, Fwaje Atajiri, said it was some distance away.

Six people were reported injured.

"The president was long gone before the blast and if not for media, he would not (have known of the blast) so he could not have been the target," Atajiri said in a statement. "The suicide bomber was heading to her target when the bomb she was carrying went off in an empty place prematurely because of the high level of security put in place."

Five people were reported dead in two explosions Sunday. Soldiers said three people were killed when a bomb exploded in a food shop, while a man and woman, both suspected suicide bombers, died when a bomb went off at an entrance to the Timber Market.

Officials said the couple were carrying a bomb in a cooler on a motorcycle and were barred from the market by security personnel.

Gombe in northeastern Nigeria is the capital of Gombe state and the headquarters of the Gombe Emirate. The city has been a frequent target of attacks by the radical Islamic group Boko Haram.