Nigeria mosque bombing kills at least seven

An explosion ripped through a mosque in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri and killed at least seven worshippers, witnesses and security sources tell AFP.

No armed groups immediately claimed responsibility for what anti-jihadist militia leader Babakura Kolo says was a suspected bombing.

Maiduguri is the capital of Borno state, home to a years-long insurgency by jihadist groups Boko Haram and an offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, though the city itself has not seen a major attack in years.

The bomb went off inside a crowded mosque in the city’s Gamboru market, as Muslim faithful gathered for evening prayers, according to witnesses.

One of the leaders of the mosque, Malam Abuna Yusuf, puts the toll at eight dead, though officials have not yet released a casualty count. Kolo says that seven were killed.