Explosion Rips Through Church Near Nigeria Capital

Last updated on: December 25, 2011 at 8:20 am by

Explosion Rips Through Church Near Nigeria Capital 2011-12-25T08:20:17-07:00

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ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — An explosion ripped through a Catholic church during Christmas Mass near Nigeria’s capital Sunday, causing unknown injuries amid a wave of sectarian attacks targeting Africa’s most populous nation.

Local police spokesman Richard Oguche said the blast struck St. Theresa Church in Madalla, a town in Niger state close to the capital, Abuja. Oguche said he had no other details and was driving to the scene of the explosion.

It was not immediately known what had caused the explosion or how many people were injured. Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, however, sent a text message to journalists warning it did not immediately have enough ambulances to begin ferrying the wounded to hospitals.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the explosion comes amid a wave of attacks in Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect known as Boko Haram. The sect is responsible for at least 465 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.

Last year, a series of Christmas Eve bombings in the central Nigerian city of Jos claimed by Boko Haram killed at least 32 people and wounded at least 74 others.

With those attacks in mind, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja had issued a warning Friday to citizens to be “particularly vigilant” around churches, large crowds and areas where foreigners congregate.

In the last year, the sect has carried out increasingly bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people with a largely Christian south and a Muslim north.

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Jon Gambrell reported from Lagos, Nigeria and can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

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