5th LD Writethru: At least 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 northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum on Tuesday, medics at a local hospital confirmed.

Medical officers at the Potiskum General Hospital said 14 lifeless bodies were, so far, deposited at the morgue in the hospital premises, while 50 other people were admitted at the incident and 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 who pleaded for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The suicide bomber which struck on Tuesday had disguised as a passenger and joined a Toyota bus, almost filled with passengers, traveling to Kano State in the northwestern region of Nigeria, according to eyewitnesses and security operatives.

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

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 injured people were burned beyond recognition.

Local security operatives have quickly cordoned off the area.

Due to 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 sponsors of Tuesday's attack to use a bomber to perpetrate the evil act, said Dotun Bademosi, a U.S.- 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 recorded 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, on Sunday, attacked a crowded market of the Potiskum town. Endi