At least 50 dead in Nigeria mosque bombing: police

NIGERIA: At least 50 people were killed on Tuesday in a suicide bomb blast at a mosque in the northeastern town of Mubi, in Adamawa state, northeast Nigeria, police told AFP.

"So far we have at least 50 dead from an attack at a mosque in Mubi," said state police spokesman Othman Abubakar, indicating that Boko Haram jihadists were responsible.

Ahmed Musa, chairman of Mubi council, said dozens of people had been injured. 

Mubi is a town in Adamawa, a state in which Boko Haram militants held territory in 2014, although the insurgents were pushed out of those areas by troops in early 2015.

The attack bears the hallmark of Boko Haram, which typically mounts suicide attacks in crowded public places, such as mosques and markets.

Tuesday´s attack is the highest loss of life since 18 people were killed in neighbouring Borno state in September. 

Boko Haram has waged an insurgency in northeast Nigeria since 2009 in its attempt to create an Islamic state in the region, killing more than 20,000 and forcing around 2 million people to flee their homes.

Most attacks by the group focus on Borno state, the birthplace of the insurgency.

The group held a swathe of land around the size of Belgium in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states until early 2015 but were forced out by Nigeria´s army backed by troops from neighbouring countries.