Suicide bombings by two schoolgirls kill 30 in Nigerian market, Boko Haram being blamed

Two schoolgirl suicide bombers killed 30 people and wounded 67 more in a coordinated attack on a crowded market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Madagali on Friday, an army spokesman said.

Boko Haram is blamed for the attack on Friday morning on the edge of the Islamic extremist group's Sambisa Forest stronghold, which Nigeria's military has been bombing ahead of ground assaults.  The bombings bore the hallmark of Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has been waging an insurgency to set up a state adhering to a strict interpretation of Muslim laws in the northeast.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. "The attack in Madagali was carried out by two female school children. They detonated two bombs at the same time killing 30 people and they also died," said Major Badare Akintoye, a spokesman for an army unit in the nearby town of Mubi.

Survivor Ahmadu Gulak says the two explosions struck simultaneously at opposite ends of the market selling grains and vegetables.

Boko Haram has frequently targetted crowded areas -- such as markets, places of worship and refugee camps -- in suicide bomb attacks across northeast Nigeria and in neighbouring Cameroon and Niger. The seven-year Islamic uprising has killed more than 20,000 people, created 2.6 million refugees and triggered a massive humanitarian crisis.

(With inputs from PTI)