Suicide bomber kills 5 at northeast Nigerian mosque

Maiduguri, Nigeria, 14 Jul – (ANA) -  A suicide bomber killed five people at the central mosque in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Friday, the military said, the latest attack in a region plagued by Islamist Boko Haram insurgents.

The blast narrowly missed the deputy governor of Borno state, Zanna Umar Mustapha, and Borno's Shehu (regional religious leader), Abubakar Umar Garbai El-Kanemi, who were attending Friday prayers.

"The suicide bomber was about 15 years old ... Fortunately we both escaped unhurt," Mustapha told reporters.

Six people were also injured in the attack, military spokesman Sagir Musa told reporters. This latest attack marks a new twist in the pattern of violence Christian churches were mainly targeted in the past. Boko Haram has killed hundreds of people this year in an insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan, seeking to carve out an Islamic state in Africa's most populous country and biggest oil producer. (ANA)

FA/ANA/14 July 2012------