50 killed in Nigeria twin blasts

Abuja: Twin blasts that hit a Muslim praying ground in Nigeria on Friday left 50 people killed, an official said.

The incident took place in Damaturu city, capital of Nigeria's Yobe state, when local residents gathered for prayers on the Eid, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Xinhua news agency reported.

Spokesperson for the Nigerian army, Col. Sani Usman said 43 people were killed in the first blast which occurred around 7:40 a.m. as some Muslim faithful arrived at the praying ground located in Layin Gwange in central Damaturu.

The second blast, which followed two minutes later, killed seven more people, he said, adding many people were injured.

Usman said two female suicide bombers carried out the attacks. The first attack was carried out by an elderly woman and the second bomb was detonated by a 10-year-old girl.

The cause of the blasts has not yet been determined. Locals blamed Nigeria's Islamist terror group, Boko Haram, for the attack.

Boko Haram has killed more than 13,000 people in violent attacks, carried out since 2009, across Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.

Nigerian authorities are seeking regional and international support to end the murderous acts of the terrorist group which intends to enshrine the Islamic Sharia law in the constitution.