Metro
42 dead in Maiduguri Mosque blast
In from Timothy Enietan-Matthews (Nation’s capital) . . .
Witnesses have confirmed that at least 42 people died in a deadly bomb blasts that rocked a mosque in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital late Thursday.
The worshippers were killed when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the mosque, witnesses said.
“All the people in the mosque died. Not a single one escaped,” said Muhtari Ahmadu, a trader near the scene.
“We counted 42 dead bodies outside the mosque,” a vigilante, Amadu Marte, said.
The Borno state police command confirmed that the mosque was hit by twin bombings but insisted only about 14 died.
The police explained that the mosque collapsed following the explosions and injured “many people praying”.
Read also: Multiple explosions rock Maiduguri (Updated)
“Casualties have been evacuated to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and specialist hospitals in Maiduguri,” it added.
According to witnesses, the bombers slipped into the mosque disguised as worshippers.
According to them, one of the attackers set off the first blast when he entered the mosque. The second bomber detonated his explosives soon after, when many had rushed to the scene to help the first victims.
“When rescuers and sympathizers gathered in front of the place, the second one went off, killing many of them,” Marte said.
The bomb blasts took place at about 6:30pm in Molai, in the western suburbs of Maiduguri, where worshippers had gathered for evening prayers, the witnesses said.
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