Nigeria Bombing Kills as Many as 50 Near Church in Kaduna
By Chris Kay and Ardo Hazzad
As many as 50 people were killed in a suicide car bombing today near a church in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna.
“It was a big explosion that shook the whole city,” and about 50 people may have died, Shehu Sani, president of the Civil Rights Congress, said by phone from Kaduna. The explosion occurred about 8:30 a.m. local time near the Assemblies of God Protestant church in the city, Sani said. Nobody has claimed responsibility so far.
Nigeria Explosion Kills as Many as 50 Near Church in Kaduna
AFP/Getty Images
People gather at the site of an explosion in Kaduna, northern Nigeria on Sunday, April 8, 2012.
People gather at the site of an explosion in Kaduna, northern Nigeria on Sunday, April 8, 2012. Source: AFP/Getty Images
Nigeria Explosion Kills as Many as 50 Near Church in Kaduna
AFP/Getty Images
People gather at the site of an explosion in Kaduna, northern Nigeria on Sunday, April 8, 2012.
People gather at the site of an explosion in Kaduna, northern Nigeria on Sunday, April 8, 2012. Source: AFP/Getty Images
Nigeria Explosion Kills as Many as 50 Near Church in Kaduna
AFP/Getty Images
Debris from a vehicle sits in the middle of a street near the site of an explosion in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, on Sunday April 8, 2012. The explosion occurred about 8:30 a.m. local time near the Assemblies of God protestant church in the city, according to Shehu Sani, president of the Civil Rights Congress.
Debris from a vehicle sits in the middle of a street near the site of an explosion in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, on Sunday April 8, 2012. The explosion occurred about 8:30 a.m. local time near the Assemblies of God protestant church in the city, according to Shehu Sani, president of the Civil Rights Congress. Source:AFP/Getty Images
Kaduna state’s Emergency Agency said 16 people had died in the city’s four hospitals, though this number didn’t include those immediately killed in the blast, Abubakar Zakari Adamu, a spokesman for the agency said by phone. About 30 others were seriously injured and being treated, he said. Yinka David, a Kaduna resident, said by phone that he counted about 30 bodies at the scene and the bombing happened about 500 meters from the church.
Authorities in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, blame Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group, for a surge of attacks since 2009 against government buildings and security forces in the mainly Muslim north and Abuja, the capital. Those attacks have caused hundreds of deaths.
“We are working hard to get those behind it,” Aminu Lawan, a spokesman for Kaunda state police said by phone. He said five people were killed in the attack, though the death toll may rise, he said.
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