Death toll rises in Eastern Nigeria Double car bombings

Officials say dozens of people have died in a twin car bombing in northeastern Nigeria. The region is a stronghold of Islamic extremists who have been conducting a bloody insurgency.

Police and witnesses said Sunday the number of people confirmed dead after a double car bombing at a marketplace in the city of Maiduguri has risen to more than 30.

Borno state police commissioner Lawal Tanko told AFP news agency that 35 bodies had been found so far, but that police were "still counting." http://www.dw.de/death-toll-rises-in-nigeria-car-bombings/a-17467943

Witnesses and an unnamed Red Cross official have put the death toll from Saturday's attack at more than 50, with the number expected to rise as dead bodies were pulled from under the rubble of dozens of destroyed houses.

Survivors of the two explosions told AP news agency that the victims included children dancing at a wedding celebration and people watching a soccer match on an outdoor TV screen.

Witnesses said most of the dead were killed by a second explosion while people were trying to help those injured in a first blast fifteen minutes earlier.