By Madjiasra Nako
N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers believed to belong to Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram blew themselves up outside a Chadian army camp on Wednesday, security sources said.
The bombing took place as 10 people, including the alleged leader of Boko Haram in Chad and northern Cameroon, went on trial in the capital N'Djamena accused of involvement in deadly attacks in the city in June and July. There was no evidence the two events were connected.
An officer at the Kaiga Ngouboua base in the Lake Chad region said the two bombers tried to get into the camp but were pushed back by the guard and so blew themselves up at the entrance. Nobody except the bombers was killed.
The campaign to crush Boko Haram has drawn in other countries as well as Nigeria. N'Djamena will host the command centre of a 8,700-strong multinational force to fight Boko Haram.
The 10 people on trial were charged under terrorism laws with conspiracy, using explosives and drug trafficking, state prosecutor Laoumpambe Mahouli Bruno said.
They include Mahamat Moustapha, alias Bana Fanaye, the alleged chief of Boko Haram in Chad and northern Cameroon. Moustapha, aged 30, and born in northern Cameroon, was arrested in late June.
"I shoulder responsibility for my actions. I bought weapons and munitions and send them to Nigeria to Boko Haram. I am a soldier for my religion. I signed a pact with God. One day Jihad will come," he told the court.
President Idriss Deby has said that Boko Haram, whose stronghold in northeastern Nigeria lies less than 100 km (60 miles) from N'Djamena, can be defeated by the end of the year.
(Reporting by Madjiasra Nako; Writing by Emma Farge, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
