REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ABUJA -- Two female suicide bombers detonated their improvised explosive devices at a large phone market in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kano on Wednesday, killing at least 50 people and leaving dozens injured, witnesses and security sources said.

Kano State police chief Musa Katsina, who was earlier at the scene of the incident, also confirmed the incident to Xinhua but declined to give official figures of casualty. He said investigation has been launched into the attacks.

The bombs went off as local people gathered for evening prayer at the market, said Saleem Ahmed Saleem, a witness. The witness counted more than 50 dead lifeless bodies littering the market.

"People had gathered in groups for ablution, ahead of the evening prayer, when the first bomb went off and was quickly followed by another," the witness said.