Nigeria suicide bombing kills 50 in Adamawa state

At least 50 people have been killed in a suicide bombing in the eastern Nigerian state of Adamawa, police say.

A bomber struck inside a mosque packed with worshippers during morning prayers in the town of Mubi.

Witness Abubakar Sule told AFP news agency that it appeared the bomber was part of the congregation.

No-one has said they were behind the bombing but the Islamist militants Boko Haram typically target crowded places in northern Nigeria.

Some 20,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram's eight-year insurgency.

The 大象传媒's Ishaq Khalid reports that Boko Haram militants have recently stepped up suicide bombings in Nigeria's north-east after the military recaptured territories previously controlled by the group.

At least 45 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack in the same state last December.

In that attack two female suicide bombers detonated their explosives in a busy market.

Boko Haram at a glance

Image source, AFP

  • Founded in 2002
  • Known locally as Boko Haram, meaning "Western education is forbidden"
  • Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
  • Designated a terrorist group by US in 2013
  • Declared a caliphate in areas it controlled in 2014
  • Most territory recaptured by army

Who are Boko Haram?

'How I almost became a suicide bomber'