Female Suicide Bomber Targets Busy Nigerian Market, Kills 5

Activists and eyewitnesses say a young female suicide bomber killed five people and wounded dozens of others at a security checkpoint outside a busy market in northeast Nigeria.

Local vigilante Buba Lawan said 19 people were taken to hospital after the blast in the town of Potiskum on February 22.

Some witnesses say the attacker appeared to be as young as 7 years old. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blast.

The attack comes a week after another young female suicide bomber blew herself up at a crowded bus station in northeast Nigeria, killing at least five people and wounding 30 others.

That attack was linked to Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.

Boko Haram has increasingly been condemned for using women and girls as suicide bombers.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters