Car bomb on edge of Nigerian capital kills at least 15
At least 15 fatalities in car bomb attack on Abuja widely believed to have been carried out by Boko Haram militants in advance of high level international conference
A suspected car bomb exploded on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Thursday, witnesses said, killing at least 15 people a week before the city is set to host a conference of leaders and business executives focused on Africa’s growth prospects.
The explosion hit the suburb of Nyanya, close to the site of a morning rush hour bomb attack at a bus station last month that killed at least 75 people. The April 14 attack was claimed by the radical Islamist movement Boko Haram, which is waging an insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan’s government.
Flames lit up the area around the blast, which was strewn with drying blood and contorted bodies, and sirens wailed.
“There was a loud blast then a ball of fire,” witness Lateef Adebayo told reporters by telephone from Nyanya. “There were many dead bodies and ambulances were rushing there.”
Kayode Adeyemi said he counted at least 15 bodies at the scene of the blast, which shook the ground next to him.
“It exploded just as commuters were waiting to board buses,” he said. “I was about 100 metres away.”
National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Manzo Ezekiel said at least 9 dead and 11 critically wounded were taken to hospital. Other wounded victims were being treated at the site.