Seven dead in suicide attack in Nigeria mosque
Abuja, July 23 : Seven people were killed and seven others injured following a suicide attack in a mosque in Nigeria's Borno state on Monday, officials said.
The injured have been evacuated to a hospital in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, Xinhua quoted Bello Dambatta, head of rescue operations at the State Emergency Management Agency, as saying.
The remains of the male suicide attacker, who caused the havoc, were among those evacuated from the scene.
The attacker entered the mosque during the morning prayer, pretending to be a worshipper, before detonating the improvised explosive device strapped to his back, said Dambatta.
"It is not clear how the suicide bomber infiltrated the town and attacked the mosque," said Ali Kolo, head of a local vigilante group in Konduga.
He said the building collapsed during the explosion and the victims were evacuated from the rubble.
Yunusa Bello, a resident who witnessed the blast, said all the victims were worshippers at the mosque.
Bello said he saw bodies of seven of the victims who died inside the mosque while two bodies were found at the entrance of the building.
"One died on the way to the hospital and one other died at the hospital," he said after assisting victims to the hospital in his van.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast but locals suspect the Nigeria-based armed group Boko Haram was to blame.
Despite the efforts by the government and the armed forces to destabilize the group, Boko Haram has been attacking soft targets recently, mostly in the northeast region of the country.
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IPL 2026 to be held between March 26-May 31 window
Mumbai (PTI): The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League will be held between the March 26 to May 31 window but it remains to be seen if Bengaluru, the home of RCB, holds the opening match.
As per the norms, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium should host the tournament opener given the home side, Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the IPL 2025 title.
While the venue has received conditional clearance from the Karnataka state government, it also needs to meet the necessary safety and security standards following the death of 11 fans in a stampede during RCB's victory celebrations in June this year.
The mini-auction for IPL 2026 will be held in Abu Dhabi today with three-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders coming in with the biggest purse.
