MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Two girl suicide bombers died when they exploded Sunday in a crowded area near a market in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri, injuring 17 people, rescue officials said.
Survivor Abubakar Musa said he also saw among the victims the bodies of soldiers, who were guarding a nearby electric power installation.
Officials blamed the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group that has staged numerous attacks in Maiduguri, the birthplace of the insurgency.
One bomber appeared no older than 7 and the second about 8 years old, said Abdulkadir Jabo, a civilian self-defense fighter who stopped them from going into the market. “I asked the older girl where she was going but she could not speak Hausa or Kanuri … and appeared very unsettled, so I turned her back,” he told The Associated Press. – READ MORE