Nigeria: Boko Haram claims responsibility for latest attacks
A suicide car bomber detonated his explosives outside a church in the central Nigerian
city of Jos, while gunmen attacked another church in the nation's northeast, killing
at least six people and wounding dozens of others in the latest attacks targeting
Christian worshippers. In Jos, which sits on the dividing line between Nigeria's largely
Muslim north and Christian south, the suicide car bomber drove toward the compound
of the Christ Chosen Church of God and detonated his bomb nearby, killing four people
and the bomber, and wounding more than 40 others – many of them critically. Outside
of the church, the shock wave from the blast brought down a portion of the building,
causing injuries inside. Angry youths later surrounded the area, striking back against
Muslims in retaliatory violence. The Archbishop of Jos, Paul Kaigama told Vatican
Radio the Boko Haram and similar groups are not interested in dialogue. "They kill,
they destroy, they spill blood, they destroy, they burn," he said. "It is very disturbing."
Nevertheless, Archbishop Kaigama says Catholics will continue to practice their faith.
Churches across the country now receive additional military and police protection,
though the increased security presence has done little thus far to stem the attacks.
Listen to our report: