Bomb blast kills 40 football fans in Nigeria

A bomb blast at a football match in northern Nigeria has killed at least 40 people.

According to police, the blast occurred at 6:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) on Sunday when fans were leaving a football field in the town of Mubi.

“There has been a bomb explosion at a football field this evening and so far more than 40 people have been killed,” an unnamed police officer from the town in Adamawa state said.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the recent attack targeting football fans, but officials and residents usually blame members of the Boko Haram Takfiri group for such acts of violence.

This comes after Boko Haram’s militants attacked the villages of Nuwari, Musari, Walori and Kolmain in Borno state on Saturday and killed a number of people.

Borno residents have faced almost daily raids in 2014, with reports saying that over 2,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the year.

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility of numerous attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009, killing thousands of people. The latest incident comes as Nigeria is struggling with the abduction of more than 200 female students by the notorious group.

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.