Explosion Rocks Maiduguri Market

A car bomb exploded in a market in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri on Tuesday morning, and dozens of people are feared dead, witnesses said.

They immediately blamed Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group whose birthplace is Maiduguri and which is accused of a series of recent bomb attacks in the West African nation.

Tuesday’s explosives were hidden under a load of charcoal in a pickup van, according to witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Trader Daba Musa Yobe, who works near the popular market, said the bomb went off just after the market opened at 8 a.m., before most traders or customers had arrived.

Other witnesses said they saw about 50 bodies, and that five cars and some tricycle taxis were set ablaze by the explosion.

They said the toll could have been worse but fewer than normal traders and customers were around because most people stay up late to eat during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting from sunrise to sunset.

A security official at the scene confirmed the blast, saying many casualties are feared. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press.