At least 50 people were killed by a suicide bomber in a mosque in the town of Mubi in Adamawa State on the northeastern edge of Nigeria.
This attack occurred as worshipers were preparing for the dawn prayer at 5:20 a.m. local time. The attack marks the largest mass killing in the region this year. The town of Mubi is near the Sambisa forest where Boko Haram took more than 270 girls from a school in 2014.
Adamawa state governor Muhammad Jibrilla released a statement on twitter asking for help in apprehending the culprits.
The region is facing an insurgency by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Boko Haram has waged attacks on civilians and military targets since 2009 in its attempts to create an Islamic state in the region.
Officials say the attack bears the markings of a faction lead by Abubakar Shekau, which often forces women and children to carry out suicide bombings. The group has killed more than 20,000 and displaced nearly two million people.
Tuesday’s attack was the region’s biggest attack since two schoolgirl suicide bombers killed 56 people last December.
