A girl, who could be as young as 7 years old, set off a suicide bomb in northeastern Nigeria that left seven people dead on Sunday.

The explosion that rocked a market in Potiskum city, the business capital of the state of Yobe, was the most recent in a series of suicide bombings in which young children have been used in the attacks.

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Initially, authorities placed the death count at six -- the bomber and five victims -- but hospital sources in Potiskum said two of the wounded had also died.

Nineteen people hurt in the blast were treated at hospital, a local leader said. Similar attacks have been attributed to Boko Haram militants.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan conceded security forces had initially underrated Boko Haram Islamist extremists.

The bomb attack uncovers the grave security threats facing Nigeria ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections on March 28.

During a trip through Nigeria's neighbors Chad, Niger and Cameroon, France's top diplomat Laurent Fabius asked Nigeria on Sunday to commit enough forces to root out Boko Haram.

Fabius said, while on a visit to Niger, it was absolutely necessary that Nigeria fully commit to wiping out the extremist group.

France has pledged to improve intelligence-sharing and other aid to the troops of Nigeria and its neighbors, which combined forces to push back Boko Haram after the militants stepped up a military campaign across regional borders.

The bombing in Potiskum on Sunday was the second suicide attack in or near the market where mobiles are sold and repaired.

The first bombing happened January 11, when two suicide attackers -- one of them apparently aged around 15 - set off explosions outside a market leaving six people dead and 37 others injured.

Jonathan conceded in an interview that came out on Sunday that he had underestimated the resolve of the Islamists, who have control over lands in the northeast.

He did say the government forces had been recently upgraded with more weapons and ammo to beat back the Islamists. He vowed to defeat the militants.

Tagssuicide bomber, Young Suicide Bomber