By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
Nigerian authorities have confirmed that at least 13 people were killed – and 31 others injured – when a suicide bomber blew himself up on Tuesday in Nigeria's northeastern town of Potiskum.
"He was disguised as a passenger. He detonated the bomb inside a bus teeming with people," Marcus Danladi, the local police chief, told reporters.
He said the 13-seat bus had been heading to Kano in the northwest.
"Thirteen people, including the bomber, died on the spot, while 31 injured people were taken to hospital," Danladi said.
He blamed the country's transport union for failing to prevent the attack, noting that proper screening had not been conducted at the bus station.
"Enough metal detectors have been provided to the National Union of Road Traffic Workers to check every passenger coming in," said the police chief.
"But to my surprise, motor parks have become soft targets," he added.
Bala Afuwa, an emergency worker with the local ISMA medical care initiative, had said earlier that at least 15 people had been killed in the bombing.
"About 15 people died while several others were injured and have been taken to Potiskum General Hospital," he told The Anadolu Agency by phone.
He said a male suicide bomber disguised as a bus passenger had blown himself up in the Tashan Dan Borno car park on Kano Road in Potiskum.
"The number of casualties could rise; most of the injured are in the hospital's emergency unit," Afuwa said.
It was the second suicide attack to rock Potiskum in a week and the fourth this year.
The last attack on Sunday killed at least five people, including the attacker, who was said to have been a nine-year-old girl.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but the finger is typically pointed at the Boko Haram militant group, which since 2009 has waged an active insurgency in northern Nigeria.
The recent rise in suicide bombings in major towns in the north has been attributed to a heavy security presence, which, it is said, makes it difficult for militants to carry out direct attacks.
