Borno (Nigeria): An explosion tore through a mosque in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, during evening prayers, killing at least ten worshippers, according to local media reports.
The incident, which occurred on Wednesday evening, has once again raised fears over renewed militant violence in a region that has endured years of insurgency.
No armed group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.
Militia leader Babakura Kolo described the incident as a suspected bombing, even as officials pointed out that militants have previously targeted mosques and crowded public places in Maiduguri using suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices.
According to witnesses, the explosion occurred inside a crowded mosque located in the Gamboru Market area, where Muslims had gathered for evening prayers.
The sudden blast caused panic and chaos, with worshippers scrambling for safety amid debris and smoke.
Kolo said preliminary assessments suggested that the explosive device may have been planted inside the mosque and detonated midway through the prayer service.
However, some witnesses claimed the explosion could have been caused by a suicide bomber, though this has not been officially confirmed by authorities, local media reports suggest.
Maiduguri is the capital of Borno state, which has been at the centre of a prolonged insurgency led by jihadist groups Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province.
While the wider region has frequently witnessed violence, the city itself has not experienced a major attack in recent years, making the incident particularly alarming for residents and security agencies.
Boko Haram launched its insurgency in Borno state in 2009 with the objective of establishing an Islamic caliphate.
Despite years of sustained military operations by Nigerian forces and regional cooperation involving neighbouring countries, sporadic attacks continue to pose a serious threat to civilians across northeastern Nigeria.
Nigeria has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency since 2009, a conflict that has claimed at least 40,000 lives and displaced around two million people in the country’s northeast, according to estimates by the United Nations.
The humanitarian toll has been immense, with communities repeatedly uprooted by violence.
Although the intensity of attacks has declined compared to the peak of the conflict a decade ago, the violence has spread beyond Nigeria’s borders into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, further complicating regional security efforts.
Concerns are now growing over a possible resurgence of violence in parts of northeastern Nigeria, as insurgent groups remain capable of carrying out deadly attacks despite years of sustained military pressure and counterinsurgency operations.
(IANS)
