Two female suicide bombers have
attacked a mosque in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, killing 22 worshipers and wounding eighteen others, the army says.
The first bomber struck inside the
mosque, while the second blew herself up outside as survivors tried to flee,
eye witnesses told the BBC.
Maiduguri is the birthplace of
Islamist group Boko Haram's insurgency which has killed 20,000 people since
2009.
The attack took place a few minutes
after worshippers started an early morning prayer, the chief imam of Umarari
mosque on the outskirts of the city told the BBC Hausa service.
"My hearing was affected by the
blast. I can't hear well at the moment," he added.
A statement from Nigeria's army says
all the wounded have been taken to a hospital in a nearby town
Last year, a regional military
offensive helped drive out Boko Haram from most of the areas it had seized in
north-eastern Nigeria.
However, the group, which is linked
to the so-called Islamic State, has continued to carry out suicide attacks in
northern Nigeria and neighbouring Cameroon.
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