A female suicide bomber has attacked a crowded bus station in the northeast Nigerian city of Damaturu, killing 10 people and wounding 30, Nigerian police reported.

Witness Adamu Muhammad said he heard a loud blast before the people at Damaturu’s central motor park “descended into panic”.

No one has claimed responsibility so far, but the attack bore the hallmarks of Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram, whose use of female suicide bombers has been an emerging trend over the past year.

The attack follows a failed attempt on Saturday by heavily armed Boko Haram militants to overrun the northeastern Nigerian city of Gombe.

The group’s violent campaign for an Islamic state has killed thousands, destabilised the northeast of Africa’s biggest economy and is increasingly spilling over into neighbours Cameroon, Chad and Niger. These countries are now fighting back in a regional effort to crush the militant group.

Nigeria postponed the national election set for February 14th by six weeks, citing the security threat from Boko Haram, in a move that rattled markets and foreign investors.

Before the Gombe attack the militant group warned people not to participate in the elections or risk being killed, according to local residents.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has said repeatedly that democracy is not Islamic.

Reuters