49 Killed In Gombe Market Explosions

Two explosions at a market in Nigeria’s north-eastern city of Gombe have killed at least 49 people and injured dozens of others, officials have said.

The market was crowded with people doing last-minute shopping on the eve of the Eid festival marking the end of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan.
One witness told the BBC many of the bodies he had seen were of children.

The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has stepped up attacks since President Muhammudu Buhari took office in May.

It has not yet commented on the latest attack.

A trader in the market, Ali Nasiru, told the AFP news agency that he saw “people lying lifeless on the ground” and traders and shoppers helped in rescue efforts.

The cause of the blasts was not yet known a shopper in the market told the BBC Hausa service, but reports say it was caused by a bomb planted inside a plastic bag.

The attack comes two days after new military chiefs were appointed by President Buhari, who has promised to stem the violence that has plagued the north-east of the country for the last six years.