UPDATED: Charcoal van bombs Maiduguri market

An early morning blast shook the busy Monday Market in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Tuesday, leading to fears of a high casualty figure.

It is believed to be a suicide attack carried out from a van at a bus station very close to the market.

TheCable was informed that the suicide van was loaded with charcoal, creating the impression that it was on a delivery mission.

Among the casualties are travellers and shoppers as well as drivers of other vehicles which were caught in the blast.

This latest terror attack, coming three days into the Radaman fast, is a remarkable deviation from previous incidents.

Attacks have hardly been launched during Ramadan since the Boko Haram insurgency started in 2009.

There is yet no official confirmation of death toll in Tuesday’s blast but witnesses said no fewer that eight persons died, with dozens injured.

“I saw police and troops picking out victims,” said Alakija Olatunde, a student who rushed to the scene, told Reuters.

An attendant at the General Hospital also told the news agency eight bodies had been brought in by civilian volunteers.

Maiduguri has witnessed a series of blasts (pictured) since the insurrection by Boko Haram started but activities had shifted to remote areas in Borno State since the declaration of a state of emergency by the federal government in 2013.