Suicide blast kills 20 anti-jihadist fighters in Nigeria

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Konduga, Nigeria | AFP

A suicide attack in Nigeria's Borno state by a woman allegedly acting for Boko Haram has killed at least 20 anti-jihadist fighters, militia members told AFP on Saturday.

Police have confirmed 10 people have been killed and said the overall toll could be higher.

Late on Friday, a woman allegedly detonated explosives strapped to her body at a haunt for vigilantes and local hunters assisting the Nigerian military in fighting "jihadists" in the town of Konduga, the militia told AFP.

"We lost 20 people in the suicide attack which happened yesterday around 9:15 pm (2015 GMT) while our members were hanging out near the fish market," said Tijjani Ahmed, the head of an anti-jihadist militia in Konduga district.

Konduga is about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern state of Borno.

Surrounding villages have been repeatedly targeted by suicide bombers said to be acting for Boko Haram, a group of armed Islamic militants that has been active in the area for at least 16 years.

Konduga town itself had seen a lull in such attacks in the past year.

"Eighteen people died on the spot, while 18 others were injured. Two more died in hospital, raising the death toll to 20," Ahmed said.

Sixteen were wounded, with 10 of them nursing severe injuries in two hospitals in Maiduguri, he said.

Crowded fish market

The dead were buried in a mass funeral on Saturday, an AFP reporter saw.

Corpses wrapped in white cloths -- some covered in bamboo mats -- were laid out in rows on the ground on wooden biers ahead of the burial.

The alleged bomber was dressed as a local heading to the crowded nearby fish market.

She detonated her explosives as soon she reached the shed used by the militia fighters as a hangout, said militia member Ibrahim Liman.

He gave the same toll as Ahmed.

Borno state police spokesman Nahum Daso told AFP 10 bodies had been recovered from the "suicide attack".

He said the toll could be higher as "details are sketchy".

Konduga fish market, which is usually busy at night, has been the target of a series of suicide attacks in the past.

"I was in the market to buy fish for dinner when I heard a loud bang some metres behind me," Konduga resident Ahmed Mallum said.

"I was flung to the ground, and I couldn't stand. I just lay down," Mallum said.

The conflict between the authorities and Boko Haram has been ongoing for 16 years.

In that time, more than 40,000 people have died and around two million have been displaced from their homes in the northeast, according to the United Nations.

The violence has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to fight armed militant Islamic groups.