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| Nigerian bus station hit by deadly explosion | Nigerian bus station hit by deadly explosion |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| An explosion blasted through a busy commuter bus station in the outskirts of Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on Monday, as hundreds of people were on their way to work. | An explosion blasted through a busy commuter bus station in the outskirts of Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on Monday, as hundreds of people were on their way to work. |
| Many are feared dead. Reporters saw rescue workers and police gathering body parts. | |
| The blast ripped a hole 1.2 metres (4ft) deep in the ground of Nyanya motor park, about 10 miles from the city centre, and destroyed more than 30 vehicles, causing secondary explosions as their fuel tanks ignited and burned. | The blast ripped a hole 1.2 metres (4ft) deep in the ground of Nyanya motor park, about 10 miles from the city centre, and destroyed more than 30 vehicles, causing secondary explosions as their fuel tanks ignited and burned. |
| There was no official comment or immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion, though bus stations are a favoured target of Nigeria's Islamist militants. | There was no official comment or immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion, though bus stations are a favoured target of Nigeria's Islamist militants. |
| Extremists have been threatening to attack the capital, which is in the middle of the country and hundreds of miles from their traditional base in the north-east, where they have killed nearly 1,500 people this year. | Extremists have been threatening to attack the capital, which is in the middle of the country and hundreds of miles from their traditional base in the north-east, where they have killed nearly 1,500 people this year. |
| The Boko Haram terrorist network last attacked the capital in 2011, when it claimed a suicide bombing by two explosive-laden cars that drove into the lobby of the United Nations building in Abuja. The attack killed at least 21 people and wounded 60. | The Boko Haram terrorist network last attacked the capital in 2011, when it claimed a suicide bombing by two explosive-laden cars that drove into the lobby of the United Nations building in Abuja. The attack killed at least 21 people and wounded 60. |
| The militants are blamed for attacks in north-east Nigeria that have killed more than 50 people in the past five days, including eight teachers living at a boarding school that had been closed because of frequent attacks on schools in which hundreds of students have died. | The militants are blamed for attacks in north-east Nigeria that have killed more than 50 people in the past five days, including eight teachers living at a boarding school that had been closed because of frequent attacks on schools in which hundreds of students have died. |
| Boko Haram, which means "western education is forbidden", has been attacking schools, villages, market places and military barracks and checkpoints this year in increasingly frequent and deadly attacks. Its mission is to create an Islamic state in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation of some 170 million people divided almost equally between Muslims living mainly in the north and Christians in the south. | Boko Haram, which means "western education is forbidden", has been attacking schools, villages, market places and military barracks and checkpoints this year in increasingly frequent and deadly attacks. Its mission is to create an Islamic state in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation of some 170 million people divided almost equally between Muslims living mainly in the north and Christians in the south. |
| The military has claimed it has the extremists on the run with near-daily air bombardments and ground assaults on hideouts in forests and mountain caves along the border with Cameroon. | The military has claimed it has the extremists on the run with near-daily air bombardments and ground assaults on hideouts in forests and mountain caves along the border with Cameroon. |