Saturday, November 5, 2011 (7:26 pm)
(ADDS NEW DEATH TOLL FIGURE, CHANGING LEAD, ADDS COMMENT PRESIDENT)
By BosNewsLife Africa Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos
ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- Islamic militants shouting "Allahu Akbar", or 'Allah is great', carried out coordinated gun and bomb attacks on churches and police stations in northern Nigeria, killing at least 150 people and injuring some 100 others, aid workers and witnesses confirmed Saturday, November 5.
Militant group Boko Haram, or 'Western education is a sin', claimed responsibility for what Nigeria's President leader Goodluck Jonathan described as a "heinous" violence in mainly Damaturu, capital of Yobe state.
Confirmation of the attacks Saturday, November 5, came as frightened mourners tried to leave their homes to begin burying their dead.
Boko Haram, which seeks strict implementation of Shariah, or Islamic law, across the nation of more than 160 million people, pledged more attacks.
The Red Cross aid group and witnesses said fighting began Friday, November 4, around Damaturu, when a car bomb exploded outside a three-story building used as a military office and barracks, with many uniformed security agents dying in the blasts.
Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed told reporters that the "suicide" attackers, driving a black sports utility vehicle, detonated their explosives near the gate of the building, used by the Joint Task Force (JTF), the military unit deployed to curb violence there.
CHURCHES ATTACKED
Several other police stations, a bank and up to six churches were also attacked, residents and aid workers said. Among areas targeted by militants was the Jerusalem area, a predominantly Christian neighborhood, according to witnesses. Read the rest on:
By BosNewsLife Africa Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos
Several churches have been destroyed in Nigeria. (File photo).
ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- Islamic militants shouting "Allahu Akbar", or 'Allah is great', carried out coordinated gun and bomb attacks on churches and police stations in northern Nigeria, killing at least 150 people and injuring some 100 others, aid workers and witnesses confirmed Saturday, November 5.
Militant group Boko Haram, or 'Western education is a sin', claimed responsibility for what Nigeria's President leader Goodluck Jonathan described as a "heinous" violence in mainly Damaturu, capital of Yobe state.
Confirmation of the attacks Saturday, November 5, came as frightened mourners tried to leave their homes to begin burying their dead.
Boko Haram, which seeks strict implementation of Shariah, or Islamic law, across the nation of more than 160 million people, pledged more attacks.
The Red Cross aid group and witnesses said fighting began Friday, November 4, around Damaturu, when a car bomb exploded outside a three-story building used as a military office and barracks, with many uniformed security agents dying in the blasts.
Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed told reporters that the "suicide" attackers, driving a black sports utility vehicle, detonated their explosives near the gate of the building, used by the Joint Task Force (JTF), the military unit deployed to curb violence there.
CHURCHES ATTACKED
Several other police stations, a bank and up to six churches were also attacked, residents and aid workers said. Among areas targeted by militants was the Jerusalem area, a predominantly Christian neighborhood, according to witnesses. Read the rest on:
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