2nd LD Writethru: 22 killed in suicide attacks targeting mosque near Nigeria's Maiduguri city: army spokesman

At least 22 people have been confirmed killed after two suicide attacks early Wednesday targeted a mosque in Umarari village located on the outskirts of Maiduguri, capital of Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno, spokesman of the Nigerian army, Col. Sani Usman said.

In a statement, the army spokesman said one of the attacks took place inside the local mosque, while the second blast occurred a few minutes later, about 50 meters away.

Two female suicide bombers perpetrated the attacks, he added.

Earlier, local authorities who confirmed the incident to Xinhua said 21 people had sustained various degrees of injury following the attack.

All the injured were evacuated to a state-run hospital near the commercial city of Maiduguri, the army spokesman said.

One of the suicide bombers sneaked into the mosque during early morning prayer, according to Alhaji Dambatta, leader of the civilian joint task force, who coordinated rescue operation after the incident.

Terror group Boko Haram is suspected to be responsible for the attacks. The group, which has spread its tentacles to Cameroon, Chad and Niger, has kidnapped thousands of people and killed more since 2009.

Early this year, the Nigerian government said it has "technically defeated" Boko Haram, but the unrelenting group has continued to carry out more attacks. Endit