Bomb blast kills nine at Nigeria bus park in Borno

By Reuters

At least nine people were killed in a blast at a bus park in northeastern Nigeria, blamed on a bomb planted by suspected militants who have stepped up attacks in Borno state, a local lawmaker and residents said.

Borno has been the heartland of an Islamist insurgency for the past 16 years, which has killed thousands of Nigerians and driven tens of thousands from their homes.

Villagers from Mairari village in Borno’s Guzamala district were waiting for transport when a bomb detonated on Saturday, killing at least nine people, said Abdulkarim Lawan, the lawmaker for the area.

Lawan, who is also speaker of Borno state assembly, said Mairari village was now largely deserted due to frequent attacks by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, who are also increasingly using improvised explosives.

“Terrorists who have been monitoring their movements planted IEDs at the local bus stop, which