An other official of the Civilian JTF, who gave his name as Bamusa, told PREMIUM TIMES that “the blasts happened in a mosque during Magrib prayer and many people were killed, sadly”.
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A triple bombing in Nigeria’s neighboring country Chad killed more than 40 people on the weekend, while another 18 died in suicide attacks outside Nigerian capital Abuja on October 2.
“We started running up and down, motorists drived and rushed out of the area including keke NAPEP riders with their families, everywhere was confused and panic took over the entire place,” said one of the witnesses, adding that “you need to see how residents were running, a few even had to park their belongings and leave the area tensed and confused as nobody knows what will happen next”.
A second suicide bomber struck as people tried to escape, he said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. However, Nigerian officials usually blame such assaults on Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists.
The militant group Boko Haram was blamed for the attacks.
The blasts occurred around 6.30pm (1730 GMT) in the western suburbs of Maiduguri, where worshippers had gathered for evening prayers, said the witnesses.
Nigerian troops launched a raid on militants on Tuesday reportedly in revenge for the last week’s attack on a military camp in the northeastern town of Geidam.
“The United States has given the pledge to support the fight against Boko Haram in Nigeria and in the region”, Nigerian President Buhari’s spokesman Garba Shehu told AFP by telephone.
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At least 17,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million made homeless since the group began its bloody campaign for an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.
