Nigeria Explosion Latest Update: Boko Haram Blamed For Madagali Bomb Attacks As Death Toll Climbs

Two female suicide bombers killed at least 45 people Friday morning in a suicide bomb attack in territory claimed by the Boko Haram militant group in northern Nigeria. The motive behind the attack was unknown, but Boko Haram, which has waged a seven-year campaign against the Nigerian government, was immediately named as a potential suspect after recent violence in the region.

The women set off their explosives in a busy market, wounding at least 33 people, said Sa'ad Bello, of the National Emergency Management Agency. They were, "disguised as customers, detonated their suicide belts at the section of the market selling grain and second-hand clothing," local government official Yusuf Muhammad told AFP.

Ahmadu Gulak, a driver who was buying tea at the market at the time of the attack, told The Associated Press he saw dead bodies and wounded people being transported to a nearby hospital. He said the attacks unfolded simultaneously at different spots in the market.

Madagali, located on the edge of Boko Haram's headquarters in the Sambisa Forest, has been the target of previous suicide attacks and violence. More recently, Boko Haram fighters shot mourners at a funeral in Madagali, killing 18 people in June. The Nigerian military recaptured the northeastern city from Boko Haram in 2015.

Boko Haram has contributed to rising poverty rates in northeastern Nigerian even as the military claims it has seized most of the the group's territory in recent months. Tens of thousands of civilians face starvation, including 75,000 children, the United Nations warned earlier this month. Boko Haram has also displaced two million people from their homes and killed more than 20,000 people during its insurgency, BBC News reported.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said Boko Haram was "technically defeated" in December 2015. Last week, he said Nigeria and neighboring states were readying to "move simultaneously and spontaneously for us to see the end of Boko Haram."