Two schoolgirl suicide bombers killed 47 people and wounded dozens more in a coordinated attacks on a crowded market in Madagali, Adamawa State on Friday, an army spokesman said.
The bombings bore the hallmark of Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has been waging an insurgency to set up a state adhering to a strict interpretation of Muslim laws in the northeast. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
“The attack in Madagali was carried out by two female school children. They detonated two bombs at the same time killing 47 people and they also died,” said a spokesman for an army unit in the nearby town of Mubi.
He said 57 people were also hurt in the bombings in Adamawa state.
Boko Haram has frequently targetted crowded areas — such as markets, places of worship and refugee camps — in suicide bomb attacks across northeast Nigeria and in neighbouring Cameroon and Niger.
The sect has killed some 15,000 people and forced more than two million people to flee their homes.
Nigeria’s army has pushed the militant group back to its stronghold in the vast Sambisa forest in the past few months. While Friday’s markets highlighted Boko Haram’s ability to mount attacks still, the frequency at which it strikes has fallen.
