Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) - At least 10 people were killed on Saturday when a young girl, thought to be aged about 10, blew herself up at a crowded market in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the Red Cross and vigilantes said.

Civilian vigilante Ashiru Mustapha said the powerful explosion rocked the market at about 12:40 pm (1140 GMT) when it was packed with traders and shoppers, adding that the girl "was about 10 years old".

A Red Cross official, who declined to give his name, said: "We have so far evacuated 10 bodies to the mortuary at the (Borno) State Specialist Hospital."