By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
At least nine people were reportedly killed on Sunday afternoon as a female suicide bomber blew herself up in a major market in Damaturu, a town in Nigeria's northeastern Yobe state.
"A total of nine people died, including the female suicide bomber who detonated an explosive charge wired to her body near the market," Michael Oshomah, a local journalist, told The Anadolu Agency by phone.
Hospital sources confirmed the death toll.
"For now, we have nine dead and 20 injured persons," said a medic who asked not to be named.
Rabiu Rabana, a resident of the area, had told AA hours earlier that a blast had rocked a major market in Damaturu.
"One cannot ascertain the exact figure of casualties but it is high because the blast occurred at a market this afternoon," he said. "Ambulances have been conveying casualties and the injured."
Rabana said it was not immediately clear whether the blast had resulted from a suicide bombing or an explosive charge.
Damaturu has repeatedly been hit by suicide blasts blamed on Boko Haram insurgents.
The militants attempted to capture the town in December of 2014, but were fought back by the Nigerian army.
In a recent video, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau claimed they had taken the city and later left.
Boko Haram has repeatedly targeted the Yobe towns of Potiskum and Damaturu.
Nigeria has battled a fierce Boko Haram insurgency that has ravaged the country's volatile northeastern region since 2009.
A seemingly emboldened Boko Haram recently stepped up its militant activity even further, seizing several areas in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, where it has declared a self-styled "Islamic caliphate."
