Blasts kill 16 in Nigerian town

Multiple suicide bombings have killed at least 15 civilians and a soldier in Chibok in Nigeria's northeast.

Many wounded people suffered severe burns and are "battling for their lives" after Wednesday's attack, Dr Idrissa Danladi says.

He says 10 people were evacuated for better medical care but the town's small hospital is overwhelmed.

Residents blamed Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group that kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls in Chibok in April 2014. Dozens escaped but 219 remain missing.

The 16 victims of Wednesday's blast were buried, said Pogu Bitrus, head of the Chibok Development Association.

He said six male and female suicide bombers entered the northeast Nigerian town on Wednesday, when people gather for the weekly vegetable market.

The first blast came when a man blew himself up at a military checkpoint. A soldier was injured and later died, Bitrus said.

That explosion raised the suspicions of the military commander. He rushed to the market to warn people to disperse but, as he arrived, a woman about to be searched blew herself up, Bitrus said.

Several people died and the commander was wounded.