MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Suspected Boko Haram insurgents detonated an improvised explosive device at a Juma’at Mosque in Gamboru Ward, near the Customs area in the heart of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, during evening prayers on Wednesday, residents and eyewitnesses said.
The explosion occurred at about 6:10 p.m. while Muslim worshippers were observing the Maghrib prayer, according to eyewitness accounts.
“It happened suddenly while people were praying,” a resident who spoke by telephone said. “There was panic everywhere, and many people were injured.”
Details remained unclear late Wednesday, but residents who spoke with Channels Television said several worshippers were feared killed or wounded in the blast. Emergency responders and security personnel were reported to have moved to the area shortly after the explosion.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and authorities had yet to release an official casualty figure as of press time.
Maiduguri has been repeatedly targeted in attacks linked to Boko Haram and its splinter groups during Nigeria’s more than decade-long insurgency in the country’s northeast. The militant group has frequently targeted civilians, markets, places of worship and security installations.
Borno State officials and security agencies were not immediately available for comment.
