50 killed as blasts hit Muslim praying ground in Nigeria

ABUJA -- Fifty people were killed in twin blasts that hit a Muslim praying ground in northeastern Nigeria on Friday, an official told Xinhua.

The incident took place in Damaturu city, capital of Nigeria's northeastern state of Yobe, as local residents gathered for prayers on Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Spokesperson for the Nigerian army Col. Sani Usman said 43 people were killed in the first blast which occurred at about 7:40 a.m. local time (0640 GMT), as some Muslim faithful arrived at the praying ground located in Layin Gwange in central Damaturu.

A second blast, which followed two minutes later, killed seven other people, he said, adding several people were injured.

Usman said two female suicide bombers carried out the attacks, adding that the first attack was carried out by an elderly woman and the second bomb was detonated by a 10-year-old girl.

The incident occurred less than 24 hours after Gombe, another northeastern state in Nigeria, witnessed two bombings in a local market Thursday which killed at least 25 people and injured more than 30.

Local people are blaming the terrorist group Boko Haram for recent attacks in Nigeria. The group usually claims responsibility for such attacks in the West African country.

Boko Haram has killed more than 13,000 people in violent attacks carried out since 2009 in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.

Nigerian authorities are seeking regional and international support to end the murderous acts of the terrorist group which intends to enshrine the Islamic Sharia law in the Constitution.