A suicide bomb attack on commuter bus Tuesday in northeast Nigeria left 17 people dead and 27 seriously injured Tuesday, witnesses and hospital sources said.
The attack occurred at Tashar Dan-Borno motor park, on the outskirts of Potiskum in Yobe state.
A man pretending to be a passenger detonated the explosives as he boarded the bus, which was being loaded and prepared for departure, according to witnesses.
An official at the bus station said 12 passengers were inside the bus when the bomber, who “looked to be in a hurry” came and dropped his luggage in the baggage compartment.
The man “made to enter the bus, but before he could be restrained for routine screening there was an explosion which killed all 12 people inside the bus and the bomber,” the motor park official said.
A paramedic at Potiskum General Hospital, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said four people who were transported from the scene died later.
Resident Ahmad Maina, who was at the scene shortly after the blast, said the bus was engulfed in flames as firefighters struggled to keep it from spreading to other vehicles.
Potiskum, the commercial hub of Yobe state, has been hit repeatedly in recent months by bombings blamed on Boko Haram.
On Sunday, a 7-year-old girl blew herself up outside a cell phone market in the town, killing seven people and injuring 11. Last month, two suicide bombers killed six people and injured 37 at the same market.