At least 10 people have been killed and 39 others injured when four suicide bombers blew themselves up in the city of Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, the military has said. 
 
 The attacks on Thursday night targeted the Ajilari Cross area of the city, near Maiduguri airport and a military base, the army said on Friday. 
 
 "Three of the terrorists [struck] in the same area and the fourth detonated in front of a mosque," according to the military headquarters in Abuja. 
 
 Locals and one police officer in the Borno state capital said initially there were seven blasts in the Ajilari Cross area of the city, with at least two bombs strapped to teenage girls. 
 
 According to the military, the attackers were members of the Boko Haram armed group. 
 
 Targeting civilians 
 
 Boko Haram group have increasingly used suicide bombers to target civilians, including in Maiduguri, where on September 20, at least 117 people were killed in a wave of attacks. 
 
 Ajilari Cross was one of several places in the city also hit 10 days ago, spreading fears of more carnage over the recent Islamic holiday, Eid al-Adha. 
 
 Nigeria's military has claimed a series of successes against Boko Haram in recent weeks, which has led many to fear an increase in attacks against civilians in the restive northeast. 
 
 Amnesty International said on Wednesday more needed to be done to protect ordinary citizens, with at least 1,600 killed in Boko Haram violence in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger since June. 
 
 The conflict has claimed more than 1,260 lives in Nigeria alone since Muhammadu Buhari took office as president on May 29, according to an AFP news agency tally. 
 
 At least 17,000 people have been killed - 3,500 of them this year, according to Amnesty - and more than 2.5 million made homeless since the Boko Haram attacks began in 2009. ||||| Five children, four girls and one boy, were behind a series of blasts in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Thursday, sources say. 
 
 Fifteen people, including the bombers, died and more than 35 were injured in the attacks at a mosque and house of vigilante leader, they said. 
 
 More than 100 people died in similar attacks in the city two weeks ago. 
 
 Maiduguri is where Boko Haram Islamist militants were first based when they began their insurgency six years ago. 
 
 Some 17,000 people are said to have been killed in that time and attacks by the group have intensified since Muhammadu Buhari became president in May, vowing to defeat the insurgents. 
 
 The BBC's Abdullahi Kaura Abubakar in the capital, Abuja, says people were waiting for the final evening prayers when three suicide bombers struck the mosque. 
 
 The girl carrying the fourth bomb ran off into the nearby bush where her explosives detonated, killing her. 
 
 The vigilante leader was not at home when a suicide attacker struck his house, our reporter says. 
 
 Witnesses and security sources said the children were aged between nine and 15. 
 
 Earlier reports said all five of the bombers were girls. 
 
 Our correspondent says the attacks in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, come as the military says it is winning the war against Boko Haram. 
 
 In June, the military's headquarters were moved to the city as President Buhari wanted to centralise operations against the militants. 
 
 This year, the security forces have reclaimed most of the territory captured by Boko Haram fighters and freed a number of people kidnapped by the militant group. 
 
 But the boosted regional multinational force - central to Mr Buhari's strategy in defeating the militants - has not yet started operations in earnest because of reported funding difficulties, our reporter says. 
 
 Mr Buhari has given his newly appointed security chiefs until mid-November to defeat the fighters, who now have ties with Islamic State group. 
 
 More than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014 from the town of Chibok in Borno state have also yet to be found. 
 
 Boko Haram at a glance: 
 
 Image copyright AFP 
 
 Founded in 2002, initially focused on opposing Western-style education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language 
 
 Launched military operations from Maiduguri in 2009 
 
 Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria, hundreds abducted, including at least 200 schoolgirls 
 
 Joined so-called Islamic State, now calls itself IS's "West African province" 
 
 Seized large area in north-east, where it declared caliphate 
 
 Regional force has retaken most territory this year 
 
 Using football to tackle Boko Haram 
 
 Who are Boko Haram?
– Five children perpetrated the suicide bombings that killed 15 people, including themselves, and injured at least 35 others Thursday in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the BBC reports. Witnesses say the child suicide bombers—four girls and one boy—were between the ages of 9 and 15. Three of the bombs exploded at a mosque just before final evening prayers. The girl with the fourth bomb intended for the mosque ran off but died when her bomb also exploded. The fifth child suicide bomber struck the house of a vigilante leader, who was not home at the time. The BBC reports Boko Haram is believed to be behind the attacks Thursday in Maiduguri, which was the Islamist militant group's original base six years ago. Boko Haram is stepping up attacks against civilians as the Nigerian military has begun seeing success in fighting them, according to Al Jazeera. A wave of attacks in Maiduguri less than two weeks ago killed at least 117 people. Earlier this week, Amnesty International called for greater protection for citizens from Boko Haram attacks. The group is believed to have killed at least 17,000 people since beginning attacks in 2009.