Suicide bomber kills 8, wounds 100 in Nigerian Catholic church

Oct 29, 2012 - Terrorist violence continues to wage in Nigeria as a suicide bomber drove a jeep full of explosives into a Catholic church during morning mass in the north on Sunday, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 100. The attack triggered reprisals that killed at least two more. There was no claim of responsibility but Islamist sect Boko Haram has bombed several churches in the past in its fight to create an Islamic state in Nigeria where the 160 million population is evenly split between Christians and Muslims. The bomber drove the car into the wall of the packed St Rita's church in the Malali area of Kaduna, a volatile ethnically and religiously mixed city, witnesses said. A wall of the church was blasted open and scorched black, with debris lying around. "The heavy explosion also damaged so many buildings around the area," said survivor Linus Lighthouse. Church attacks often target Nigeria's middle belt, where its largely Christian south and mostly Muslim north meet and where sectarian tensions run high. Kaduna's mixed population lies along that faultline. At least 2,800 people have died in fighting since Boko Haram's insurrection began in 2009, according to Human Rights Watch.