At least 26 people were killed on Monday in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State after the vehicle they were traveling in struck an improvised explosive device (IED), authorities said. The bomb was allegedly planted by Boko Haram militants.

The explosion occurred around noon along the road connecting Kala-Balge and Gamboru-Ngala, near the village of Furunduma, police spokesperson Nahum Daso told local media late Monday.

“A van heading from Kala-Balge to Gamboru-Ngala hit an IED at Furunduma. The tragic incident resulted in the deaths of 26 people, including 16 men, four women, and six children,” Daso said. Several injured individuals were taken to a hospital for treatment.

The attack comes just two weeks after a similar bombing in the same state killed eight people, also blamed on Boko Haram.

Borno has been the epicenter of Boko Haram’s insurgency since 2009. The violence intensified in 2016 with the rise of a splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Both groups aim to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria, a country split between a Muslim-majority north and Christian-majority south.

The ongoing insurgency has claimed more than 35,000 lives and displaced around 2.7 million people across Nigeria and neighboring countries including Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, according to UN and government figures.

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