Death toll of Nigeria blasts rises to 162

Smoke rises after a bomb blast at the market district in Jos May 20, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

LAGOS - Death toll of the twin blasts on a busy market road in Nigeria's central city of Jos on Tuesday rose to 162, medical sources told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Mohammed Abdulsalam, coordinator of the National Emergency Management Emergency (NEMA) in Nigeria's north central region, told reporters in Jos, the Plateau State capital on Tuesday night that 118 persons were killed in the twin bomb blasts that hit the Terminus Market.

A Xinhua reporter in the restive city who visited PSH counted 44 other dead bodies found on the floor of the hospital mortuary, apart from the documented casualties.

A medical source at Plateau Specialist Hospital (PSH) confirmed on condition of anonymity that at least 15 injured victims whom were rushed to the emergency unit gave up before midnight as a result of lost of bloody.

Earlier, police authorities in the West African country had said at least 46 people were killed and 45 others sustained injuries when the two explosions rocked the Nigerian city.

Plateau State police chief Chris Olakpe considered the incidents as suicide bomb attacks, while speaking to reporters.

According to him, the first bomber came in a Fiat bus and parked at the market's central business area.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the bomb blasts in a statement. He described the perpetrators of the tragic assault on human freedom as "cruel and evil."

The Nigerian leader directed all relevant agencies to mobilize support and relief efforts in aid of the victims, while assuring all citizens that the government would remain fully committed to winning the war against terror.

Tuesday's bombings occurred barely 48 hours after an explosion hit Nigeria's northern city Kano on Sunday night, killing five people, according to state officials.

The Plateau State capital Jos was plunged in a pool of blood on March 7, 2010, when religious crises ensued between members of local Muslim and Christian communities in revenge for previous killings.

The state has witnessed some bomb blasts and constant rifts between Berom and Fulani herdsmen, with many, especially women and children, murdered in cold blood. Nigeria is witnessing some of its worst violence in recent years.