Dozens killed in Nigeria suicide blasts

KANO, Nigeria: Suicide bombers killed dozens of people at a mosque and a market in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday, in a twin attack bearing the hallmarks of Islamist insurgents Boko Haram.

The blasts happened at about 1:20 pm (1220 GMT) in Mubi, a city some 200 kilometres from the Adamawa state capital, Yola. Adamawa state police spokesman Othman Abubakar said, "For now the death toll is 24," but other sources gave far higher figures.

Rescue worker Sani Kakale said: "In my presence, 42 dead bodies were taken to hospital and 68 injured." A source at Mubi General Hospital told AFP they had "so far" received 37 bodies and dozens of injured, many of them critically.

Suspicion immediately fell on Boko Haram, the Jihadist group whose quest to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has left at least 20,000 dead since 2009. Mubi has been repeatedly targeted in attacks blamed on Boko Haram since it was briefly overrun by the militants in late 2014.