Eid Nigeria bombing: '10-year-old girl' kills 12 in suicide attack

No group has yet claimed the attack, although Boko Haram are known to operate in the country

Worshippers in Lagos, Nigeria (AP)

Suicide bombers have killed as many as 64 people in a number of explosions in the north of Nigeria as thousands celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid in the north of the country.

Two female suicide bombers have reportedly killed at least 12 people, with early reports claiming that one of the bombers was a 10-year-old girl, according to Nigerian army spokesperson Colonel Sani Usman.

Hours earlier, two bombs killed an estimated 50 people in another northern town, Gombe, according to National Management Agency spokesperson Sani Datti. Another 75 people are reportedly being treated in nearby hospitals.

Two blasts have been reported in the town of Damaturu, in the northern Yobe region, where worshippers were waiting to be screened to enter an open-air venue – known as Eid grounds.

Colonel Usman said that four people died in the first explosion and another five were killed when the second individual detonated their device.

"The first blast went off around 07:15 local time (06:15 GMT) while security volunteers who had come earlier than worshippers were waiting for the worshippers so they could assist in crowd control," eye witness Ahmad Adamu, a security volunteer, told the BBC.

As worshippers rushed to attend the victims, another explosion - approximately 500metres away – ripped through the crowd.

The explosions are the latest in the country grappling extremist organisation Boko Haram. Earlier this week another suicide bomber attacked the same area. Some 300 people have been killed this month alone, although no group has yet claimed this attack.