By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
Ten people at least were killed and 66 others seriously injured on Sunday after a suspected suicide attack on a telecommunications market in the boisterous Azare town in the northeastern Bauchi state, eyewitnesses said.
Police spokesman Haruna Mohammed, meanwhile, confirmed the attack.
He could not, however, confirm the number of casualties from the bombing.
"Yes, the blast had occurred at a telecommunications market in Azare, but details remain sketchy at present," Mohammed told Anadolu Agency.
However, Jiddah Hakimi, a resident of the area, said he counted at least ten "dead" and "charred" bodies of victims, while up to 66 people had been injured and taken to various hospitals.
"This blast had occurred at a place we call Kasuwan Jagol, where people, particularly young men, sell and repair handsets and accessories," he said.
On November 7, at least14 people were killed and around 40 others injured in Azare when a man – allegedly bearing an improvised explosive device – detonated it as workers queued in front of an ATM machine to withdraw their salaries.
Bauchi, although relatively peaceful compared to other northeastern states, has not been totally immune from attacks believed to be linked to the militant Boko Haram movement.
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