DHAKA: A suicide bomb attack by a young girl in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri has killed 19 people, while another a bomb-laden car exploded in Yobe state killing a further two people, police said.

The first blast happened about 12:40pm local time (11:40 GMT) on Saturday near the live chicken section of the city's Monday Market, AFP news agency said.

The attacker was believed to be a girl as young as 10 years old, according to sources quoted by AFP news agency.

Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, speaking from Abuja, quoted police as saying there were six deaths while another 20 people were injured. The attack had not yet been claimed. 

A second blast occurred about 14:30 GMT on Saturday in the Potiskum Area Command. 

Al Jazeera correspondent Idris said that there were conflicting reports but that police sources said that the car bomb had detonated while being searched by policemen as the owner was being questioned in the police station. 

"It was while they were at the gates of the police station undergoing security checks that the car exploded," an officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP news agency. 

"The policeman and the driver have been confirmed dead but details of other casualties are not clear yet," he said.

BDST: 0225 HRS, JAN 11, 2015