The suicide bombing attack of a mosque near Maiduguri, Nigeria, killed at least 22 people and wounded 17 Wednesday.
The two bombers were female, according to the Associated Press. One detonated a bomb inside, reports said. The second bomber waited outside and exploded her bomb while those at prayer tried to escape.
Sources say the blast took place early in the morning.
Boko Haram, an African Islamic militant group, is known to use girls and women as suicide bombers, sometimes detonating the bombs remotely.
One man escaped the destruction because he was late for prayer. Umar Usman saw what happened outside of the mosque.
“We were just a few meters away from the mosque when a loud bang erupted,” he said. “All we could see was dark smoke and bodies littered around.”
No group or person claimed responsibility for the violence.
Maiduguri is seen as the birthplace of Boko Haram and a frontline for fighting the terror group. Boko Haram often stages attacks and suicide bombings in the area of Maiduguri.
I’m Jonathan Evans.
VOANews reported on this story. Jim Dresbach adapted the report for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.
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Words in This Story
mosque – n. an Islamic center; a building that is used for Muslim religious services
detonate – v. to explode or to cause something to explode
blast – n. a powerful explosion
littered – v. to cover with wastes or a large number of objects