Two explosions have ripped through a market in the Nigerian city of
Maiduguri, killing 10 people, witnesses said, nearly a week after two
female suicide bombers attacked the same area, killing more than 45
people.
Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from the capital
Abuja, quoted a witness in Maiduguri saying there had been 10 fatalities
following Monday's attack.
The attack came hours after explosions and gunfire rocked another northeastern city of Damaturu in Yobe state, in a suspected Boko Haram attack that targeted police officers.
"A middle-aged woman approached the site where chicken sellers attend
to customers but vigilantes who stood nearby insisted on checking the
luggage she was carrying," witness Ahmad Sanusi told the AFP news
agency.
"The woman refused, arguing that what she held were her wares. While
the argument ensued, some people gathered at the scene and that was when
she detonated the explosive,"Sanusi said.
Quoting a witness, our corresponent said "there were lots of decapitated bodies scattered around the area".
"Shops in the area and markets were destroyed and people were being taken to the hospital," she said.
The Monday Market was hit last Tuesday by two women who detonated
explosives hidden under their hijabs. The same market was attacked on
July 1 and at least 15 people died.
PLS CONTINUE :
Bomb defused
A police bomb squad on Friday defused a suspected remote-controlled
improvised explosive device buried in the dirt near another market in
Maiduguri.
Boko Haram fighters were suspected and it was thought the bomb was intended to hit worshippers at a local mosque.
Two suspected female suicide bombers were arrested in Maiduguri last week.
It was not immediately clear whether the woman in Monday's incident
was a suicide bomber or if she was merely carrying explosives hidden in
her luggage.
Another witness named Goni Abba reported a second explosion just
seconds after the first. Nearby buildings were destroyed and there were
reports of deaths and injuries, he added.
There was no immediate official confirmation of fatalities but the police, army and Red Cross were at the scene.
In
the Damaturu attack, a local source confirmed to Al Jazeera that gunmen
believed to be Boko Haram fighters attacked the Yobe state University
and other targets in the city.
The fighters came from the bush and opened fire, according the witnesses.
The military engaged them but the gunfire later moved away from the
university and into the bush as Nigerian troops chased the fighters.
Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states have bore the brunt of attacks by Boko
Haram, which opposes Western education and wants Islamic law imposed
across Africa's most populous nation. The violence prompted the
government to declare a state of emergency, which has been in place
since May 2013.

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