Nigeria blasts leave 50 dead

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria: Three bombings rocked separate targets in northeast Nigeria’s largest city of Maiduguri on Saturday, killing at least 50 people, witnesses and a local official told AFP, in violence blamed on Boko Haram

The first attack was carried out by a female suicide bomber at the Baga fish market at roughly 11:20 a.m. (local time), said Abubakar Gamandi, the head of the fisherman’s union in Borno State, of which Maiduguri is the capital.

“A female suicide bomber exploded as soon as she stepped out of a motorized rickshaw,” said Gamandi, who was at the scene.

About an hour later a bomb blast hit the popular Monday Market, according to Gamandi and a nurse, who requested anonymity.

It was not immediately clear whether the second attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

“For now, we have at least 50 dead bodies from the two incidents... the toll may change because we are expecting more casualties,” said Gamandi.

The first two attacks were confirmed by Borno’s Justice Commissioner Kaka Shehu, but he declined to provide casualties figures until rescue workers had completed their searches. Shortly after 1 p.m. Shehu phoned AFP in Maiduguri to confirm a third bombing at the busy Borno Express bus terminal, but details, including on casualties, were not immediately available.