22 killed in Nigeria suicide blasts

Abuja [Nigeria], Feb 17 (ANI): The death toll in Friday's suicide bomb attack in Nigeria's busy market has reached 22.

The attacks were carried out by three suicide bombers on Friday, when they detonated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Kasuwar Kifi, on the outskirts of Konduga town, the Xinhua reported.

More than 25 people were injured in the deadly attack, according to local media reports.

An eyewitness named Idrissa Bana said that the three bombers simultaneously detonated the explosives on their bodies in the crowded market.

"There were a lot of people doing last-minute shopping when the suicide bombers hit the market," Bana was quoted by various media outlets as saying.

No one has claimed the responsibility for the attack, though several Nigerian analysts opined that the Boko Haram insurgent group could be responsible for the bombings.

The dreaded militant group has stepped up its campaign of suicide bombing by using girls as 'human bombs' to carry out suicide attacks in Nigeria.

Earlier this month, six people were killed and 39 others were injured in a similar attack in the northeastern part of the country.

The Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009 when the militants staged an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria.

Suicide attacks carried out by the insurgent group have claimed more than 20,000 lives and displaced at least two million people, according to Nigerian vice-president Yemi Osinbajo.

Also, the group has carried out mass abductions, including the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014.

The group is also active in the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger. (ANI)