Dozens killed in Nigeria explosion, Boko Haram blamed

Abuja: Dozens of people were feared killed Thursday as an explosion ripped through a crowded market in the Nigerian state of Borno, one of the three states worst-hit by the Boko Haram insurgency, witnesses said.

It was not clear if it was a suicide attack, a witness said, adding that the dead and the injured were taken to a nearby hospital, in the Biu town located in the southern part of Borno, 185 km away from the state capital Maiduguri, according to a Xinhua report.

"It is our market day here in Biu, so the place was full to the brim. We just heard the loud blast and everyone scampered for safety..." the witness said over the phone.

The locals blamed the attack on Boko Haram, a terror group which has proved to be a major security threat in Nigeria since 2009.

In a recent video released by Boko Haram, the group threatened to carry out more deadly attacks as the troops of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad were collaborating to wipe out the militant group from their respective territories.

The name Boko Haram, translated from the local dialect, means "non-Islamic education is a sin".

The group seeks to enshrine the Islamic Sharia law in the constitution of Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, and create an Islamic state in the mainly Muslim northern part of the country.

Nigeria's neighbours Cameroon, Chad and Niger have also faced the brunt of Boko Haram attacks.

Having postponed the general elections over security concerns, authorities in Nigeria have vowed to crush the militant group in the coming weeks.