Suicide bomber kills 13 in Nigerian market: police

KANO: At least 13 people were killed Sunday and 65 others injured when a female suicide bomber blew herself up at a busy mobile phone market in restive northeast Nigeria, police said.

The attack in the town of Azare in Bauchi state came just as vendors were packing up for the day and is the latest in a recent wave of suicide attacks.

“So far, 13 persons were confirmed dead while 65 others sustained various degrees of injuries” Haruna Mohammed, Bauchi state police spokesman, said in a statement.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast but similar bombings have been carried out in the region by the militants of Boko Haram who are waging an insurgency against the government.

Residents said the suicide bomber entered the market around at 5:50 pm local time (1650 GMT) accompanied by two men, one of whom was killed by an angry mob after the deadly blast.

“The two men tried to flee but they were pursued and apprehended. One of them was lynched to death whereas the other is now in custody,” a witness, Alyu Habib, told AFP.

He said he saw at least eight dead people after the explosion.

Another witness confirmed that one of the two men spotted entering the market with the woman “was killed by the angry mob”. He said the “explosion set the shops on fire”.

The attack near Azare´s stadium was the third bombing in the town in recent weeks.

Last week, a bomb concealed in a bag went off near a cash dispensing machine, killing several people. On October 23, a bombing near a bus station killed at least five people.