The extremists’ offensive in northeastern Nigeria has also spilled into neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon
A teenage suicide bomber has killed at least 50 people in the northeastern Nigerian town of Mubi, with the death toll expected to rise further. Officials believe jihadi group Boko Haram is responsible.
Authorities said a teenage suicide bomber killed at least 50 people who had gathered for morning prayers at a mosque in northeastern Nigeria in one of the deadliest attacks in the region for years.
Police spokesperson Othman Abubakar told The Associated Press they were still trying to ascertain the number of injured because they are in various hospitals.
President Muhammadu Buhari tweeted that he was “saddened by the very cruel and dastardly suicide bombing attack.
Pictures posted on social media in the aftermath of the attack showed bloodstains on the floor of the mosque, which had a gaping hole in its wall.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack bears the hallmark of Boko Haram, which typically mounts suicide attacks in crowded public places, such as mosques and markets.
According to sources Boko Haram, the militant group that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions in the region, is thought to be behind the attack in Mubi, a town in Adamawa state, but has not yet claimed it.
Abubakar Sule, who lives near the mosque, told to the news agency he had just returned home when he heard the blast and rushed back to the scene.
The Nigerian military has repeatedly claimed to have won the war against Boko Haram and to have killed its most prominent leader, Abubakar Shekau. But President Muhammadu Buhari’s claim late last year that the extremist group had been “crushed” has proven to be premature.
Boko Haram has been blamed for more than 20,000 deaths during its nearly decade-old insurgency, which has spilt over into neighbouring countries and displaced millions of people, creating a vast humanitarian crisis.