A teenage suicide bomber detonated himself, as worshippers gathered for morning prayers at a mosque in northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 50 people, police said on November 21, in one of the region’s deadliest attacks in years.
Police spokesman Othman Abubakar told The Associated Press they were “still trying to ascertain the number of injured because they are in various hospitals.”
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing in Mubi town in the northeastern Adamawa State, the suspicion immediately fell on the Boko Haram extremist group.
Google Maps image locates Mubi town in Nigeria’s Adamawa State. Many died in a blast that happened during early morning prayers at the Madina mosque in the Unguwar Shuwa area of Mubi on November 21, 2017.
The group is based in neighboring Borno state and has been blamed for scores of similar attacks over the years.
Increased use of teenagers
Boko Haram increasingly has been using teenagers or young women as bombers, many of whom have been abducted.
While Nigeria’s military in recent months has flushed out Boko Haram from its forest stronghold, President Muhammadu Buhari’s claim in late 2016 that the extremist group had been “crushed” has proven to be premature.
Boko Haram has been blamed for more than 20,000 deaths in its nearly decade-old insurgency, which has spilled over to neighboring countries and displaced millions of people, creating a vast humanitarian crisis
