16-04-2024 08:52 PM Jerusalem Timing

Blasts at Bus Station near Nigeria Capital Kill Dozens

Blasts at Bus Station near Nigeria Capital Kill Dozens

Twin blasts at a bus station packed with morning commuters on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital killed dozens of people on Monday, in what appeared to be the latest attack by Boko Haram group.

Twin blasts at a bus station packed with morning commuters on the outskirts of Nigeria's capital killed dozens of people on Monday, in what appeared to be the latest attack by Boko Haram group.

The explosions rocked the Nyanya station roughly five kilometres (three miles) south of Abuja at 6:45 am (0545 GMT) and destroyed some 30 vehicles, mostly large passenger buses, officials and an AFP reporter said.

The head of search and rescue operations at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Charles Otegbade, said one of the blasts "emanated from a vehicle" within the station but the precise nature of the explosion was not immediately clear.

No group has yet claimed the apparent attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on Boko Haram, an insurgent group blamed for killing thousands across northern and central Nigeria since 2009.

"Dozens of people were killed in the bomb blasts in Nyanya bus park this morning," NEMA spokesman Manzo Ezekiel told AFP, adding that witnesses reported hearing two separate explosions.  

The explosions left a hole roughly four feet (120 centimetres) deep and scattered personal items as well as human flesh across the compound, an AFP reporter at the scene said.