Explosion hits packed mosque in Nigeria’s Maiduguri

A number of people are feared to have been killed and injured in Nigeria after an explosion in a mosque in Borno state.

Eyewitnesses said the blast in the Gamboru market of Maiduguri, the state capital, happened during evening prayers. One report suggests seven people were killed, but there has been no official confirmation of any casualties.

Unverified footage on social media appears to show the aftermath of the explosion, with people stood in a market area with dust particles in the air.

No group has admitted carrying out the attack, but militants have previously targeted mosques and crowded places in the area with suicide and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks.

Maiduguri has been central to an insurgency by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province.

Military operations by Boko Haram to create an Islamic caliphate in Borno state began in 2009.

Security measures against the group have failed to prevent sporadic attacks against civilians in north-east Nigeria.