At least 32 people are dead and about 80 people are hurt after an explosion in the Nigerian city of Yola, according to BBC.
The blast took place at a fruit and vegetable market near the main road.
Al Jazeera writes, ”the ground near my shop was covered with dead bodies. I helped to load 32 dead bodies into five vehicles,” said witness Alhaji Ahmed, who owns a shop in the market.
No one claimed responsibility, but the news agency reports that the blame will likely be placed on Boko Haram, the group that has killed thousands as it attempts to promote Islamic law in Nigeria.
Tuesday night’s blast breaks a three-week hiatus in bombings after a string of suicide attacks culminated in twin explosions in mosques in two northeastern cities that killed 42 people and wounded more than 100 in October this year.
One of the mosques attacked was in Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, where the blast took place Tuesday night.
The dead and the injured were evacuated to hospitals, Sa’ad Bello, coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, told the Associated Press.
Most victims were vendors and passers-by, said Deputy Superintendent Othman Abubakar, the police spokesman for Adamawa state.
Nigeria’s military has reported foiling several suicide bombers recently and killing and capturing insurgents as it destroys Boko Haram camps in air raids and ground attacks.
Some 20,000 people have been killed in the 6-year-old Islamic uprising that has spread to neighboring countries.
Last Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari was in Yola to decorate soldiers for bravery in the fight against Boko Haram as well as visit a camp for people displaced by six years of violence that have left at least 17,000 people dead.
He told troops he believed Boko Haram “are very close to being defeated” and urged soldiers “to be vigilant, alert and remain focused on preventing Boko Haram from sneaking into our communities to attack soft targets”.
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