A suicide bomber disguised in a school uniform detonated explosives at a high school assembly in Nigeria's northeastern town of Potiskum on Monday, killing 48 students, according to survivors, hospital officials and a morgue worker.
An earlier figure given by Reuters put the number of dead at at least 35.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Yobe State, a territory that has been hit by Sunni Muslim Boko Haram rebels during a five-year insurgency seen as the main security threat to Africa's leading oil producer. Soldiers rushed to the grisly scene on Monday, but were chased away by people throwing stones, angry at the military's inability to halt the insurgency that has killed thousands and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Mariam Ibrahim, a teacher at the Government Science Secondary School (GSS) in Potiskum told Reuters the bomb went off as she was arriving and students were having their usual morning briefing. Survivors say about 2,000 students had gathered for Monday morning's weekly assembly when explosives apparently carried in a school-type rucksack blasted through the hall.
Potiskum resident Aliyu Abubakar said he heard the explosion when he was dropping off his two sons at a nearby Islamic college. "One of my sons fell down, I came out dragged him in and we drove off back home," he said.
Potiskum General Hospital's accident and emergency ward had received 35 bodies, an official there told Reuters. Hospital workers say dozens are being treated and amputations are likely.
"There are some (others) that are critically injured and I am sure the death toll will rise," another teacher said, asking to remain anonymous.
A suicide bomber last week killed 30 people in Potiskum, capital of Yobe state.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sinful" in the local Hausa language, has targeted schools, abducted students and killed thousands in its campaign to carve out an Islamist state.
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