Explosion Kills 32 in Nigerian Market

Yola, Adamawa state, Nigeria

A nighttime suicide bombing Tuesday in a parking lot and market in northeastern Nigeria killed at least 32 people and wounded 80, emergency management officials said.

The explosion struck after dark in the city of Yola. No one immediatedly claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell on Boko Haram, the Islamic insurgent group that has killed thousands in a bloody campaign to turn Nigeria into a strict Islamic state.

This was the first suspected Boko Haram attack in Nigeria in several weeks, leading President Muhammadu Buhari to tell Nigerian troops earlier this month that the terrorists "are very close to defeat."

A series of suicide attacks culminated in twin explosions in mosques in two northeastern cities that killed 42 people and wounded more than 100 on October 23. One of the mosques attacked was in Yola, capital of Adamawa state.

About 2.3 million refugees have been driven from their homes by the Boko Haram uprising.