Several Christmas Day bomb attacks at Nigerian churches have left at least 27 people died and scores injured, media reports say.
The militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which has in the past launched suicide bomb attacks on Nigerian targets, claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombings, according to the BBC. The group, whose name means “Western education is sinful,” wants to impose sectarian Shariah law across the West African country.
At least five bombs went off at churches across Nigeria, reported Reuters. “We were in the church with my family when we heard the explosion. I just ran out,” Timothy Onyekwere, who attended St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madala in Abuja, told the news agency.
Boko Haram has been blamed for a spate of attacks this year, launched on bars and pubs, government buildings, and state facilities in the northern portion of Nigeria, which is predominantly Muslim.
Last Christmas Eve, the group claimed responsibility for bomb attacks that killed 32 and injured 74. The group also claimed responsibility for the Nov. 4 bombing in the town of Damaturu, which killed more than 100 people.
President Goodluck Jonathan is a Christian from the southern Nigeria.
