At least 45 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in the north-eastern Nigerian town of Madagali in Adamawa state, officials say.

Two female suicide bombers detonated their explosives in a busy market, an army spokesman said.

No group has said it was behind the attack.

But Islamist militant group Boko Haram has been waging a seven-year insurgency against the government and often uses suicide attacks.

At least 33 people were wounded in the bombing, said Sa'ad Bello, of the National Emergency Management Agency.

The two bombers, who were "disguised as customers, detonated their suicide belts at the section of the market selling grain and second-hand clothing," local government official Yusuf Muhammad told AFP.

Madagali was recaptured from Boko Haram in 2015 and has been the target of previous suicide attacks.

Image copyright AP Image caption Boko Haram used female suicide bombers in a similar attack in north-eastern Nigeria last year

A regional force has retaken most territory under the group's control in the past 22 months.

But as it advances into areas previously controlled by the Islamists, the army has found tens of thousands of civilians on the brink of starvation.

The number of people facing starvation in the north-east of Nigeria is as high as 120,000, of which 75,000 are children, the UN warned earlier this month.

More than two million people have been forced from their homes as a result of the Islamist insurgency.</s>A double suicide bombing in northeastern Nigeria has killed at least 30 people, according to an army spokesman.

The blasts occurred in the town of Madagali, in Adamawa state, when two female suicide bombers detonated devices at a marketplace, military spokesman Major Badare Akintoye told AFP.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Boko Haram has been waging a seven-year insurgency in northeast Nigeria that has resulted in the death of thousands of and displaced more than 2 million people. Nigerian security forces liberated Madagali from the control of the Islamist extremist group in early 2015.

Newsweek tried to contact other Nigerian military spokespeople for confirmation but has received no immediate reply.

A driver who was buying tea at the market, Ahmadu Gulak, told the Associated Press that he counted at least 10 bodies and that dozens of wounded people were being taken to hospital.

Two suicide bombers targeted a market in Madagali in December 2015, killing around 30 people.

Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in 2015, but has recently split into factions—one loyal to ISIS, and the other following long-time leader Abubakar Shekau—after the Syria-based group appointed a new leader for Boko Haram. The appointment was denounced by Shekau, and the two factions have reportedly engaged in clashes in northeast Nigeria.</s>The death toll from Friday’s suicide bombing attacks in Madagali town, Adamawa state, has risen to 56, according to varios media resources.

The death toll has risen up to 56 and even more are injuried

The local government also reported about 57-67 people who were critically injured and later taken to Mubi General Hospital and Yola Specialists Hospital

120 other people sustained minor injuries in the explosions that occurred at a busy market in early Friday morning, December 9.

READ ALSO: Breaking! President Buhari urgently adresses Nigerians on Madagali blasts

Madagali lies some 276km from Yola, the Adamawa state capital.

The town, which is close to neighbouring Borno state, was one of several others held by Boko Haram at the height of the group’s brutal insurgency.

The latest blast is the third in Madagali, following attacks by two female suicide bombers on December 28, 2015, at a busy motor park.

Meanwhile, Yusuf Muhammad, the chairman of Madagali Local Government, has called on the federal government to deploy soldiers to the surrounding areas.

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of victims of the twin bomb blasts, the local government and people of the state.

READ ALSO: Bomb blast in Yola: Atiku reacts, as Nigerians mourn

The president restated that “putting an end to this senseless loss of innocent lives remains a top priority of this administration” adding that, “over the past few weeks, the Nigerian military have made significant advancements in an offensive aimed at slamming the final nail in the coffin of Boko Haram.”</s>An official says the toll from a double suicide bombing in a marketplace in northeast Nigeria has risen to 57 dead and 177 wounded.

Yusuf Muhammed, chairman of the Madagali local government, says 120 children are among those wounded when two women suicide bombers blew themselves up Friday at opposite ends of the market in Madagali town.

Officials have blamed Boko Haram Islamic extremists. The explosions occurred on the edge of the group's Sambisa Forest stronghold, which Nigeria's military has been bombing ahead of ground assaults. Since the military has dislodged the insurgents from towns and villages this year, they have been attacking soft targets.

Madagali was liberated last year after months in the hands of Boko Haram.</s>Two schoolgirl suicide bombers killed 56 people and wounded dozens more in a co-ordinated attack on a crowded market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Madagali on Friday, a local official 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. Yusuf Mohammed, chairman of the local district government, said the bombings left 56 people dead and wounded 57.

Maj Badare Akintoye, a spokesman for an army unit in the nearby town of Mubi, said the attacks had been carried out simultaneously by two schoolgirls.

Boko Haram has frequently targeted 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 jihadist group 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 market attack highlighted Boko Haram’s ability to mount strike against civilians in urban areas, the frequency at which the group does so has fallen. – (Reuters)</s>Nigeria has formed a regional military coalition involving Cameroon, Chad and Niger to eradicate Boko Haram. By Stefan Heunis (AFP/File)

Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Two female suicide bombers struck at a busy market in Nigeria on Friday, killing at least 30 people, the military said, in the latest bloodshed to hit the country's restive northeast.

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the blasts bore all the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which regularly uses women and young girls to carry out suicide attacks in its seven-year insurgent campaign in the troubled region.

"At least 30 people have been killed in the suicide blasts carried out by two female suicide bombers in the market," military spokesman Badare Akintoye told AFP.

"Several people have been injured in the attack," said Akintoye by phone from a military base in the town of Mubi, 100 kilometres (60 miles) away.

A local government official and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed the attack.

"The two bombers who (were) disguised as customers, detonated their suicide belts at the section of the market selling grains and second-hand clothing," said Yusuf Muhammad, the chairman of Madagali local government.

"We still don't have the exact number of those injured but they are many."

The attack on Madagali, which was recaptured by Nigerian forces from Boko Haram jihadists in 2015, was the third time the town has been targeted since December last year when two female suicide bombers killed scores.

Market trader Habu Ahmad said Friday's blasts happened around 9:30 am (0830 GMT).

"It was dead bodies and wounded people in the midst of blood, spilt grain and abandoned personal effects," he said.

Ibrahim Abdulkadir, NEMA spokesman for the northeast, said rescue teams had been deployed to the scene.

"We heard there was a twin-blast in a market at Madagali this morning. Our men are on (the) ground evacuating the victims," he told AFP. "We still don't have details of casualties."

He said security agents had cordoned off the scene of the explosions.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the attack in a statement on Friday, vowing to put "an end to this senseless loss of innocent lives."

"This latest attack is obviously an act of desperation, but the Nigerian military will neither be distracted nor relent," he said.

He urged Nigerians to be more vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity to the nearest security agents.

"The battle against terrorism is a joint effort involving all citizens, both government and governed.

"Together, Nigerians can and will defeat the evil that is Boko Haram," he added.

Buhari had told a security conference in Senegal on Wednesday that the situation in the region was "under control".

Boko Haram is seeking to impose a hardline Islamic legal system on Nigeria's mainly-Muslim north. Its campaign of violence has killed at least 20,000 people and displaced some 2.6 million since 2009.

Nigeria's military campaign against the jihadists is increasingly bogged down as it confronts suicide attacks, looting and indiscriminate slaughter.

The United Nations has warned that the affected region faces the "largest crisis in Africa".

The UN estimates that 14 million people will need outside help in 2017 because of the ongoing violence, particularly in Borno State, the epicentre of the rebellion.</s>At least 30 people were killed on Friday when two female suicide bombers detonated their explosives in a busy market in northeast Nigeria, the military said.

Boko Haram is blamed for the attack on the edge of the Islamic extremist group’s Sambisa Forest stronghold, which Nigeria’s military has been bombing ahead of ground assaults.

Survivor Ahmadu Gulak says the two explosions struck simultaneously at opposite ends of the market selling grains and vegetables.

The seven-year Islamic uprising has killed more than 20,000 people, created 2.6 million refugees and triggered a massive humanitarian crisis.</s>Nigeria has formed a regional military coalition involving Cameroon, Chad and Niger to eradicate Boko Haram. By Stefan Heunis (AFP/File)

Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Two female suicide bombers on Friday killed 45 people and wounded 33 others when they detonated their explosives in a crowded market in Nigeria's restive northeast, the emergency service said

The army had earlier put the death toll at 30.

"From our updated records we have 45 dead and 33 injured in the twin suicide bomb explosions in Madagali," said Sa'ad Bello of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Adamawa state.</s>Two schoolgirl suicide bombers killed 30 people and wounded dozens more in a co-ordinated attack on a crowded market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Madagali 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 30 people and they also died,” said Maj Badare Akintoye, 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.

“Security agents have taken over the area to avoid enemies coming in to cause another attack.” Maj Akintoye said.

Boko Haram has frequently targeted 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 jihadist group 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.</s>Twin bomb blasts killed at least 30 people at a local market in Madagali, Nigeria, on Friday in an apparent suicide attack carried out by two females, according to military spokesman Maj. Badare Akintoye.

Residents of Madagali, in northeast Nigeria's Adamawa state, said the explosions also resulted in numerous injuries.

"The military are in full control of the security situation in the area so there is no security threat," said Akintoye.

Madagali is located on the border with Borno state, the birthplace of the militant group Boko Haram, and has incurred many attacks and abductions since the military retook the area from the militants in 2015.

The attacks have prevented residents from resuming normal commercial and social activities in the area, locals said.

Local leaders have called on Nigeria's government to deploy soldiers to villages and bushes connecting the area with Sambisa Forest, where Boko Haram militants are believed to have set up camps.
At least 56 are killed and 70 wounded in a twin suicide attack in northeastern Nigeria.