An attack that saw two suicide bombers ram their car into a bus station in northern Nigeria has killed at least 22 people and wounded dozens more, police said Tuesday. The attack on Monday in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, led to a huge explosion that hit five buses, police spokesman Magaji Majia told AFP. Witnesses spoke of hearing multiple blasts and said they saw wounded victims in bloodied clothes fleeing the area as authorities cordoned off the scene.
President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the attack and said his government would continue "its unrelenting war against terrorists". But the government has so far shown little ability to halt violence linked to an insurgency by the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram. Police spokesman Majia said that sixty-five people were wounded in Monday's attack in Kano.
"Two suicide bombers rammed their Volkswagen Golf car into a luxury bus loaded with passengers about to leave for the south. This led to an explosion that engulfed the bus and four other buses lined up waiting for passengers," he said. The targeted bus station primarily services passengers heading to the mostly Christian south of Nigeria. It was also attacked in January of last year in a blast which wounded several people.
Authorities have not said who was behind the bombing and there has been no claim of responsibility, but it was similar to previous attacks by Boko Haram. Kano has been repeatedly targeted by the group, blamed for killing hundreds in the region since 2009. Its deadliest assault yet occurred in Kano in January 2012, when at least 185 people were killed in co-ordinated bomb and gun attacks.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer, is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south. Boko Haram's targets have included symbols of government authority, churches and Muslims it views as collaborating with the government.