Two teenage girls wearing explosives died on Monday in Northern Cameroon after being stopped at a checkpoint, an official said.

The girls, aged 13 and 15, were headed for crowded areas in Mora when they refused to allow themselves to be controlled at a checkpoint, according to regional governor Midjiyawa Bakary.

Vigilance groups manning the checkpoint shot the 13-year old dead, while the 15-year old blew herself up.

The girls, who had crossed into Cameroon from Nigeria, were believed to have been sent as suicide bombers by the Boko Haram.