[Published: Sunday November 25 2012]
Car bombs target church inside Nigeria military barracks
Jaji, Nigeria, 25 Nov -(ANA) - Two car bombs have targeted a church inside a military barracks in Kaduna state in northern Nigeria, killing and injuring several people, officials say. A military spokesman said the cars were driven into the barracks in Jaji in what he described as "surprising and an embarrassment". It is not clear how many casualties there were or who was responsible. However, several churches in the state have been attacked in recent months by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The group is fighting to overthrow the government and impose an extreme form of Sharia law. "The first blast caused no casualties and curious worshippers gathered around the scene looking at the debris... and that was when the second blast happened," the military spokesman said. Eyewitnesses reported seeing bodies at the scene, and people being carried away on stretchers. At least 50 people were killed in bombings in Kaduna in June and the reprisals that followed. And almost a month ago seven people died in a suicide bombing at a Roman Catholic church in the state. Kaduna is on the dividing line between Nigeria's mainly Christian south and the north, which has a large Muslim majority. On Friday, Nigeria's military offered a reward of 50m naira ($ 317,000; £ 197,709) for help in tracking down suspected Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, and 10m each for other suspected leaders of the group.(ANA)
FA/ANA/25 November 2012-----------
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