A bombed scene at Kuje Abuja

Three huge blasts have hit the city of Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria,  killing a number of people, locals and the Red Cross said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the latest blasts, which happened in quick succession or who was responsible.

“We are all confused and people are running helter-skelter,” Bashir Mohammed who lives nearby told AFP.

Sheriff Ahmad, a cleric in the area, said: “Many people have been killed. I don’t know how many and I don’t think anyone can tell you now.”

Ahmad described seeing body parts on his house, while Hafsat Sani, a nurse at the nearby Umaru Shehu Hospital, said: “There are many houses around the area and the blasts have affected many of them.”

The hospital quickly began receiving the injured while police, soldiers, the Red Cross and officials from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) were mobilised, he said.

There was no immediate comment from the police or military while details were sketchy as Maiduguri is subject to a night-time curfew.

On October 1, at least 10 people were killed and 39 injured when four suicide bombers blew themselves up in a wave of attacks in Ajilari Cross, which is near Maidugiri airport and a military base.

At least two bombs were strapped to teenage girls, witnesses and the police said at the time.

The September 20 attack targeted a mosque and killed football fans watching a televised match as well as bystanders.

*AFP