17 dead, 27 injured in Yobe Bus Blast- Witness, Rescuers

At least 17 people were killed on Tuesday
when a blast ripped through a bus in
Potiskum, northeast Nigeria, witnesses and
rescue workers said, in the latest violence to
hit the troubled region.
The explosion happened at the Tashar Dan-
Borno motor park on the outskirts of the city
immediately after a man put a bag in the boot
of the bus and then tried to board.
“The bus had just loaded with passengers on
its way to Kano when a huge explosion
happened inside the bus at exactly 11:40 am
(1040 GMT),” said a driver’s union official at
the bus station.
Potiskum, the commercial capital of Yobe
state, has been hit repeatedly by bombings,
including on Sunday, when a young girl with
explosives strapped to her body blew up at a
crowded market.
Thirteen dead and 31 injured were initially
brought to Potiskum General Hospital after
Tuesday’s blast, according to a nurse at the
facility, but she added: “Four more died here.
“So, we have 17 dead and 27 people with
injuries.”
The drivers’ union official said it was not
immediately clear whether the man who placed
the bag in the boot was a suicide bomber or
whether the explosives were hidden inside it.
– ‘Bus engulfed in flames’ –
Rescue workers at the scene said that all 12
people on board the bus were killed.
The girl in Sunday’s attack which left seven
people dead in Potiskum was thought to be as
young as seven, according to multiple
witnesses.
Boko Haram Islamists have increasingly used
young girls and women as human bombs,
with so-called “soft targets” such as markets
and bus stations hit regularly.
Both bombings again underlined the severe
security challenges facing Nigeria in the run-up
to presidential and parliamentary elections on
March 28.
The elections were initially scheduled for
February 14 but were delayed by six weeks to
give the military and its allies more time to
secure and stabilise the northeast to allow
people to vote.
Waziri Danu, who lives in the area, said of the
latest bombing: “I was at a car wash nearby
when I heard a huge explosion and saw
volleys of fire and smoke coming from the
motor park.
“I and people around rushed to the place and
we saw a bus engulfed in flames… It is not
likely if anyone in the vehicle has survived.”
Another driver, who also asked not to be
identified, said: “We were taking turns to load
when this man came. He appeared to be in a
hurry.
“He asked if the bus was going to Kano. I said
yes. But before he could be screened he
dropped his bag in the boot among other
luggage and just made to enter the bus.
“Some people tried to restrain him for the
screening but then there was an explosion.”


Vanguard.