Two female suicide bombers on Friday killed 45 people and wounded 33 when they detonated explosives in a crowded market in Nigeria’s restive northeast, emergency services said.
The Nigerian Army had earlier put the death toll at 30.
“From our updated records we have 45 dead and 33 injured in the twin suicide bomb explosions in Madagali,” said Saad Bello of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Adamawa state.
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the blasts bore all the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which regularly uses women and young girls to carry out suicide attacks in its seven-year insurgent campaign in the troubled region.
Military spokesman Badare Akintoye had earlier said “at least 30 people have been killed in the suicide blasts carried out by two female suicide bombers in the market.”
A local government official and the NEMA confirmed the attack.
“The two bombers who [were] disguised as customers, detonated their suicide belts at the section of the market selling grains and second-hand clothing,” said Yusuf Muhammad, the chairman of Madagali local government.
The attack on Madagali, which was recaptured by Nigerian forces from Boko Haram militants last year, was the third time the town has been targeted since December last year, when two female suicide bombers killed scores of people.
Market trader Habu Ahmad said Friday’s blasts happened at about 9:30am.
“It was dead bodies and wounded people in the midst of blood, spilt grain and abandoned personal effects,” he said.
NEMA spokesman for the northeast Ibrahim Abdulkadir said rescue teams had been deployed to the scene.
He said security agents had cordoned off the scene of the explosions.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday condemned the attack in a statement, vowing to put “an end to this senseless loss of innocent lives.”
“This latest attack is obviously an act of desperation, but the Nigerian military will neither be distracted nor relent,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to be more vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity to the nearest security agents.
“The battle against terrorism is a joint effort involving all citizens, both government and governed. Together, Nigerians can and will defeat the evil that is Boko Haram,” he said.
Buhari had on Wednesday told a security conference in Senegal that the situation in the region was “under control.”
Boko Haram is seeking to impose an Islamic legal system on Nigeria’s mainly-Muslim north. Its campaign of violence has killed at least 20,000 people and displaced about 2.6 million since 2009.
Nigeria’s military campaign against the militants is increasingly bogged down as it confronts suicide attacks, looting and indiscriminate slaughter.
The UN has warned that the affected region faces the “largest crisis in Africa.”
The UN estimates that 14 million people will need outside help next year because of the ongoing violence, particularly in Borno State, the epicenter of the rebellion.
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