A man dressed in a woman’s burqa blew himself up in the main market in Chad’s capital N’Djamena early yesterday, killing 14 people and injuring 74, a police spokesman said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility but Chad blames Boko Haram, the Islamist militant group based in neighbouring Nigeria, for a series of bombings and shootings in the central African country in recent weeks.

“Our current count is 15 dead,” police spokesman Paul Manga, said, a total which included the suicide bomber.

A Reuters witness saw at least 10 bodies lying near the entrance to the market where aid workers helped injured people into ambulances. Security forces stopped people entering the area and searched stalls for more explosives.

Chad authorities banned the head-to-toe religious garment last month

Witnesses said that the bomber had tried to enter the market wearing a woman’s burqa. Chad authorities banned the head-to-toe religious garment last month, citing the risk that attackers could use it as a disguise or hide explosives underneath.

“The suicide bomber was a man disguised as a woman (in a burqa). He tried to enter the market when he was intercepted by police,” Manga said. “That is when he detonated the bomb.”

Residents said the explosion happened at around 7.30am, during a busy period before the midday heat.