26 killed, 28 injured in Nigeria mosque bombing attack

At least 26 people have lost their lives and 28 others have been injured following a bomb explosion of inside a mosque in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri, the capital of the Borno state.

The assailant, who pretended to be a worshiper, detonated his explosives inside the mosque next to the Monday Market of Maiduguri when the Asr (afternoon) prayers began at about 3:30 pm local time (1430 GMT) on Saturday.

Meanwhile, some reports put the death toll at 30.

“The roof was blown off and fire destroyed the mats” of the mosque, market trader Nura Khalid told AFP.

No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly blast; however, Nigerian officials often blame such attacks on Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists, mostly active in the northeast of Africa’s most populous country.

The bombing came hours after the terrorists fired rocket-propelled grenades into residential areas of Maiduguri and killed at least 13 people.

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” has killed over 15,000 people and displaced about 1.5 million others in Nigeria during its six-year militancy.

The terrorists control parts of northeastern Nigeria and seek to topple the Nigerian government. They have also conducted cross-border attacks in Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The terror group has pledged allegiance to the fellow Takfiri terrorist group ISIL, which currently controls parts of Iraq and Syria.