New Attacks on Christians in Nigeria: Boko Haram Claims Responsibility

July 12, 2012: Boko Haram an extremist Islamic group, on Wednesday, claimed responsibility for attacks over the weekend that killed many people in villages near the central Nigerian town of Jos.

Christians "will not know peace again" if they do not accept Islam, said a statement from the Boko Haram sect, according to the Associated Press. According to the Associated Press hundreds of assailants armed with guns and machetes stormed a dozen Christian villages on Saturday. Estimates of the numbers killed vary, but one report put it at 65.

In a press release written in a local dialect of Hausa and signed by Boko Haram leader Abul Qaqa, the group said, "We thank God for our success in the attack on Christians at Barikin Ladi and Riyom, whereby security agents, Christians and two state and national assembly members were killed," according to Reuters.

Gunmen, divided into five groups, attacked 10 villages, killing mostly women and children on Saturday night, according to a report by a Nigerian newspaper, The Nation. According to the report the attackers came back as the bodies from the initial attack were being buried. Among those killed in the second attack were some local legislators.