Around 50 people were killed and dozens injured when twin blasts struck a market in the northeast Nigerian city of Gombe on Thursday

Around 50 people were killed and dozens injured when twin blasts struck a market in the northeast Nigerian city of Gombe on Thursday, rescue workers said.

The first explosion took place outside a packed footwear shop around 16:20 GMT, followed by a second explosion just minutes later, a witness said.

He stated the area at the time was crowded with customers doing some last-minute shopping on the eve of the Eid festival marking the end of the Muslim fasting holy month of Ramadan.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts but a market, bus station and stadium in the city of Gombe, the capital of Gombe state, have all in recent months been targeted by bomb and suicide attacks.

In February, Boko Haram terrorist group claimed responsibility for an attack on Gombe during which hundreds of operatives, armed with heavy weapons, invaded the city for a few hours.

Gombe state neighbors the states of Borno, Yobo and Adamawa, which have been most affected by the Boko Haram violence that has killed more than 15,000 people in Nigeria since 2009.