Cameroon arrests bomb-toting six-year-old in Far North

Cameroonian security forces have arrested a six-year-old boy who was found carrying a bomb in the city of Maroua in the country’s Far North Region, a local security source told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

According to the source, the child was found in a crowded market carrying a bag “in which we discovered the bomb.”

“The child, told us that a young man gave him the bag and asked him to help carry it to the market in return for 3,000 CFA francs [about $5.45],” the source said.

According to information obtained by Anadolu Agency, the boys’ clothing attracted the attention of police.

“The child was wearing a dirty old robe and a pair of sandals while carrying a new bag that appeared to be of some value,” the security source said.

The money was later found in the child’s possession, while his parents and home have since not been identified.

Maroua is the regional capital of Cameroon’s Far North Region, which shares a border with Nigeria, from which Boko Haram hails.

This month, the Far North Region has experienced three different suicide attacks that have together killed over 50 people.