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Five killed in Nigeria market attack

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IANS

Nairobi, Feb 23 (IANS/EFE) At least five people were killed and 30 others injured Sunday in a suicide attack staged by a woman at a market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Potiskum, witnesses said.

The attack came about 1.25 p.m. when the terrorist blew herself up at the market entrance after getting into a dispute with the guards who were attempting to search her at the security checkpoint.

"I heard a loud noise from my house. When we went outside, we saw that the people were removing bodies and transporting them to the hospital," local resident Mohammed Abbas told Daily Trust newspaper.

 

The spokesman for the police in Yobe state Toyin Gbadegesin confirmed the attack but did not provide any casualty figures.

However, according to what several witnesses told the daily, the bomb killed at least five people and wounded more than 30.

Despite the fact that there has, as yet, been no claim of responsibility for the attack, the prevailing suspicion is that it was the work of the Boko Haram group, which in recent months has staged a number of deadly attacks in public places in Potiskum.

--IANS/EFE

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First Published: Feb 23 2015 | 5:46 AM IST

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