More than 70 killed in Nigeria bombings, suicide attacks

LAGOS - More than 70 people have been killed and more than a hundred others injured in sporadic bombings and suicide attacks that struck northern Nigeria since Sunday, according to police and eyewitnesses.

Nigerian police on Monday said scores of people were killed after bomb blasts hit near a mosque in the outskirt of Maiduguri, capital of the country's restive northeast Borno State.

"I can confirm to you that the incident happened in the early hours of Monday, but I cannot give you the casualty figures as aid workers are still counting," Victor Isuku, the state police spokesperson told reporters.

Local residents claimed that at least 20 people were killed in the bombings. However, a source at the Borno Specialists Hospital told Xinhua earlier that 30 corpses have been deposited at the morgue and another 65 persons injured were receiving treatment at the hospital.

In a separate case on Monday in the Madagali town of northeast Nigeria's Adamawa State, at least 17 people were killed and some 41 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack.

The two female suicide bombers were said to have carried out the attack in the town bordering Gwoza in Borno State, according to Haruna Furo, the Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency.

Eyewitnesses said that the two female suicide bombers blew themselves up at a motor park.

The Nigerian Army also disclosed that 25 people were killed and 85 others injured when three of 14 female suicide bombers who attempted to invade Maiduguri blew themselves off on Sunday.

Yushau Abubakar, theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, told a media briefing in Maiduguri that the 14 female suicide bombers, who were between the ages of 12 and 18, were intercepted by Nigerian Army on patrol. Seven were gunned down by the troops, three escaped and one was arrested.

Abubakar said four soldiers also died in the ensuing gun battle. He appealed to the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious movement to the security agencies.

The incident have jolted Maiduguri as fear of more blasts enveloped the city, a resident told Xinhua earlier on Monday.

Boko Haram, a militant group, which has since 2009 waged a campaign of violence in Nigeria in an effort to establish an Islamic state, is suspected to be responsible for these series of blasts. It has killed some 13,000 people and kidnapped hundreds, with surrounding countries such as Niger, Chad and Cameroon affected.

At least 14 people were killed, dozens injured and an entire village burned down in an attack perpetrated on Christmas day by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.

Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said efforts are underway to persuade the insurgent group to embrace peace in the interest of the nation.

Buhari had earlier given military chiefs a December deadline to end the insurgency of Boko Haram.