Bus bomb attack kills 20 in northeastern Nigeria

More than a dozen people have lost their lives when a powerful explosion ripped through a bus in Nigeria’s violence-plagued northeastern state of Yobe.

Witnesses said the massive explosion took place at the Tashar Dan-Borno motor park on the outskirts of the city of Potiskum on Tuesday.

“The bus had just loaded with passengers on its way to Kano when a huge explosion happened inside the bus at exactly 11:40 a.m. (1000 GMT),” a driver at the bus station said on condition of anonymity.

According to witnesses and rescue workers, 20 people were killed and 27 others injured in the incident.

Another driver said the blast happened after a man put a bag in the boot of the bus and then tried to board the vehicle before he could go through a security check.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s bombing. However, the Nigerian government blames such acts of terror on the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group.