Explosion Blamed On Nigeria's Boko Haram Kills 32

A video grab shows the leader of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, holding up a flag as he delivers a message.

A suicide bomber hit a truck stop in northeastern Nigeria, killing 32 people and wounding 80 in an attack blamed on Boko Haram extremists.

The blast on November 17 was the first in nearly three weeks after a string of suicide attacks that culminated in twin explosions in mosques that killed 42 people and wounded more than 100 on October 23.

Othman Abubakar, the police spokesman for Adamawa state, said most of the victims were vendors and passers-by. Sa'ad Bello of the National Emergency Management Agency said the wounded were evacuated to area hospitals.

The blast came just days after President Muhammadu Buhari visited, declaring that Boko Haram was close to defeat.

Nigeria's military has reported foiling several suicide bombers recently, and killing and capturing insurgents as it destroys Boko Haram camps in air raids and ground attacks.

Some 20,000 people have been killed in the 6-year-old Islamic uprising that has spread to neighboring countries.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP