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Nigeria school assembly hit by bomb attack leaving at least 48 dead Nigeria school assembly hit by bomb attack leaving at least 48 dead
(about 1 hour later)
A school in Nigeria has been hit by a bomb attack during a school assembly and at least 48 people have been killed, according to a morgue worker and residents, with the number likely to rise. A suicide bomber dressed as a student has killed at least 48 people and left 79 injured in an attack at a school in Nigeria during assembly, with the death toll likely to rise.
Reports of the number of dead and injured are conflicting and remain unconfirmed however, and Reuters news agency reports that a hospital official has stated the number of people killed is 35, with most of them students.
The morgue worker said the attack is the result of a suicide bomb attack.
The explosion happened at a boy’s science and technical school in the north-east Nigerian town of Potiskum in the Yobe state.The explosion happened at a boy’s science and technical school in the north-east Nigerian town of Potiskum in the Yobe state.
Students at the Government Comprehensive Senior Science Secondary School were rushed to hospital on Monday following the attack during a morning assembly. Students at the Government Technical Science College were rushed to hospital on Monday following the attack during a morning assembly.
A teacher at the school has told Reuters news agency that at least 20 have been killed in the attack. "So far, the number of dead is 48, while 79 are injured. I counted the bodies, moistly students and a few teachers," a nurse at Potiskum General Hospital told Reuters.
“As it stands now, we have taken about 20 dead bodies to the hospital. There are some that are critically injured and I am sure the death toll will rise,” the teacher at the school said, asking to remain anonymous. "A teacher who survived the blast with minor injuries said the bomber dressed like a student and was also on the assembly ground with other students," she said, asking to remain anonymous.
A medic at the hospital told AFP its priority was to save the injured and that a headcount of the victims had not yet been taken. Some 2,000 students had gathered for the Monday morning assembly when the explosion blasted through the school hall, according to survivor reports.
No militant group has yet taken responsibility for the attack, but Boko Haram is likely to be blamed. The militant group’s name means “Western education is a sin” and it has previously attacked schools in its campaign to establish an Islamic state in the country. "We were waiting for the principle to address us, around 7:30am when we heard a deafening sound and I was blown off my feet, people started creaming and running, I saw blood all over my body," 17-year-old student Musa Ibrahim Yahaya said at the hospital, where he was being treated for head wounds.
No militant group has yet taken responsibility for the attack, but police told the BBC they believe Boko Haram was behind the attack.
The militant group’s name means “Western education is a sin” and it has previously attacked schools, abducted  hundreds of students and killed thousands in its five-year campaign to establish an Islamic state in the country.
The attack comes just days after a suicide bomber killed at least seven people in the north-east Nigerian town of Azare on Friday.The attack comes just days after a suicide bomber killed at least seven people in the north-east Nigerian town of Azare on Friday.
The attack, which happened outside a commercial bank, is suspected to have been carried out by Boko Haram as the group has previously targeted the area. The attack, which happened outside a commercial bank, is suspected to have been carried out by Boko Haram as the group has previously targeted the area, and the terrorist's group's attacks have intensified since an apparent ceasefire with the Nigerian government was later rejected by the group's leader in an online video.
Additional reporting by agenciesAdditional reporting by agencies