Two female teenage suicide bombers detonated their bomb-laden vests inside a crowded market in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, killing about 30 people.
The deadly attack took place in Maiduguri, the provincial capital of the volatile Borno province, on Monday afternoon, reported Associated Press. It is the fourth suicide bombing and fifth attack this month in the Nigerian city, known as the birthplace of Islamic terror group Boko Haram.
Eyewitnesses said one female bomber, believed to be 17-years-old, blew herself up near a crowded mosque attached to Gamboru fish market.
"It was a young lady that blew herself up near the mosque where traders were observing Asr (late afternoon) prayers. She had to wait until when the traders were deep in the prayer session before she detonated the bomb, killing a large number of persons and injuring many," Idi Idrissa, a fish vendor, told Leadership newspaper.
The second female bomber, however, failed to reach a crowded target before her device detonated.
"Immediately after the first blast, another female suicide bomber killed herself when the IEDs wrapped in her body accidentally went off before reaching her crowded target at a mosque close to the market," an eyewitness told Vanguard newspaper.
A civilian said he counted about 30 dead bodies and several injured ones. "We had evacuated about 30 corpses into the security truck that took them to the state specialists hospital. It was not a sight you would want to see twice," Samaila Abu, who was part of rescue operation team, told Leadership newspaper.
The twin suicide bombing took place as Nigeria's security commaders were meeting with President Buhari in Abuja about violence perpetuated by Boko Haram, which has killed more than 13,000 people in the country since 2009.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion falls on Boko Haram, according to Information Nigeria. The jihadist group is known for using female suicide bombers.
