Nigerian police: Car bomb kills 16 at bus station in Gombe

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) – Nigerian police say at least 16 people were killed and 25 wounded by a car bomb at a bus station in the northeastern city of Gombe.

Deputy Superintendent Fwaje Atajiri said the explosion happened early Monday.

He would not speculate about who was responsible although the attack bears all the hallmarks of Nigeria’s home-grown Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram.

Hundreds of people have been killed by car bombs and suicide bombers this year, mainly in the northeast that is home to the Islamic uprising. Bombs have also killed hundreds in Jos and Abuja, the capital in the center of the country.

The extremists want to impose an Islamic state in Nigeria, which is divided almost equally between Muslims, who dominate the north, and Christians in the south.