Twin bomb blasts target worshipers outside mosque in Nigeria, 60 killed

Nigeria, May 2: Taking a serious cognizance of the tragic incident of twin attack that took place in Mubi city, Nigeria. It has been estimated that nearly 60 people have been killed in the twin suicide attack on May 1.

 

Two explosions killed at least 60 worshippers at a mosque in north-eastern Nigeria and wounded at least 56 others, with many of the victims caught in the second blast while trying to flee. The attack in Mubi town came a day after President Muhammadu Buhari met with US President Donald Trump at the White House and discussed the threat from the Nigeria-based Boko Haram extremist group.

This is the second time in six months that dozens have been killed in an attack on a Mubi mosque. In November, a teenage suicide bomber attacked worshippers as they gathered for morning prayers, killing at least 50 people in one of the region’s deadliest assaults in years.

The local volunteers, who were involved in the rescue effort, described the situation as “chaos all over the place”. “We have evacuated dozens of dead and injured people to the hospital and the rescue operation is still ongoing,” they said.

Health workers from the hospital mobilized to attend to the victims, despite being on strike over pay and conditions.

Suspicion immediately fell on Boko Haram, the jihadist group whose quest to establish a hardline Islamic state in north-east Nigeria has left at least 20,000 dead since 2009. Mubi has been repeatedly targeted in attacks blamed on Boko Haram since it was briefly overrun by the militants in late 2014.

Nigeria’s government and military have long maintained that the Islamic State group affiliate is a spent force and on the verge of defeat. But there has been no let-up in attacks in the country’s north-east.