Young suicide bomber claims four lives in Nigerian market

In recent months, Boko Haram has begun using teenage girls and young women for suicide bombings in marketplaces, bus stations and other busy areas

A girl, as young as ten years old, blew herself up in a busy market in northeastern Nigeria, killing herself and four others, and fueling fears Islamic extremists are using kidnapped girls as suicide bombers.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack Sunday, which also seriously wounded 46 people, but it bore the hallmarks of Nigeria's homegrown extremist group, Boko Haram.

The girl, who appeared to be no more than 10 years old, got out of a tricycle taxi in front of the busy cell phone market in Potiskum and minutes later her explosives detonated, according to a survivor of the attack.

Authorities were not immediately able to confirm the girl's identity or her precise age from her remains.

In recent months, Boko Haram has begun using teenage girls and young women for suicide bombings in marketplaces, bus stations and other busy areas, but the girl in Sunday's attack appeared far younger.

It is not clear whether the girls and women have set off the explosions themselves, or whether the detonations were controlled remotely.