14 killed in Nigeria bus station attack

At least 14 people were killed when a suicide bomber wreaked havoc at a crowded bus station in the northeastern Nigerian town of Potiskum Tuesday, hospital sources confirmed.

Medical officers at the Potiskum General Hospital said 14 bodies have been brought to the morgue, while 50 other people were admitted to the emergency unit of the state-run facility.

"Our register is now full of victims of bomb attacks, including the victims that were rushed here today (Tuesday)," said a doctor on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The suicide bomber who struck Tuesday came disguised as a passenger and got on to a Toyota bus, almost full with passengers, that traveling to Kano state in the country's northwest, according to eyewitnesses and security personnel.

"The suicide bomber had just alighted from a tricycle and joined the Kano-bound bus before detonating the explosive devices," a security source told Xinhua news agency.

Several other people were injured after the suicide bomber detonated his explosive devices at the new motor park located on a road linking the northwestern state of Kano, a witness named Saratu Mahmud told Xinhua by telephone.

"Suddenly, we heard a very loud sound from the park and a small bus went aflame. Many people around the place died because I saw more than 10 charred bodies evacuated now," she said.

Another witness said some people were burned beyond recognition.

Security personnel quickly cordoned off the area.

Due to the recent increase in suicide bomb attacks in Potiskum, often carried out by women, Xinhua learned that authorities had ordered for a thorough screening to be carried out on intending female passengers at the new motor park.

This, probably, caused the perpetrators of Tuesday's attack to use a bomber to perpetrate the evil act, said Dotun Bademosi, a US-trained security analyst in Nigeria.

In the last three months, Boko Haram attacks have been intensified in Potiskum, the largest city in the northern Yobe state. At least 55 people have been killed in separate attacks in the town since November 2014.

Tuesday's attack occurred 48 hours after at least five people were killed by a female suicide bomber who, Sunday, attacked a crowded market in Potiskum.