‘Boko Haram’ suicide attack kills at least 22 worshippers

suicide bomb attack has killed at least 22 Muslim worshipers at a mosque in Maiduguri

 

A suspected Boko Haram suicide bomb attack has killed at least 22 Muslim worshipers at a mosque in Maiduguri in north-east Nigeria.

Rescue officials said two female suicide bombers were believed to have carried out the attack, which saw 17 other people injured.

One bomber blew herself up inside the mosque and the second did so outside as survivors of the first blast tried to flee.

Umar Usman, a worshipper who avoided the blast because he was late arriving to pray, told the Associated Press: “We were just a few meters away from the mosque when a loud bang erupted and all we could see was dark smoke and bodies littered around.”

Despite a largely successful Nigerian army offensive last year, Boko Haram continues to hold sway in the far northeast of the country and across the borders into Cameroon, Niger and Chad.