44 gunned down by suspected militants in Nigerian mosque
15 Aug 2013 5:12 AM IST
Suspected Islamic militants wearing army fatigues gunned down 44 people praying at a mosque in northeast Nigeria, while another 12 civilians died in an apparently simultaneous attack, security agents said Monday.
Sunday’s attacks were the latest in a slew of violence blamed on religious extremists in this West African oil producer, where the radical BokoHaram group, which wants to oust the government and impose Islamic law, poses the greatest security threat in years.
It was not immediately clear why the Islamic Boko Haram would have killed worshipping Muslims, but the group has in the past attacked mosques whose clerics have spoken out against religious extremism. Boko Haram also has attacked Christians outside churches and teachers and schoolchildren, as well as government and military targets.
Since 2010, the militants have been blamed for the killings of more than 1,700 people, according to a count conducted by Associated Press.
The news about Sunday’s violence in Borno state, one of three in the northeast under a military state of emergency, came as journalists received a video featuring Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, who gloats over recent attacks, threatens more, and even says his group is now strong enough to go after the United States.
The mosque slayings occurred Sunday morning in Konduga town, 35 kilometers (22 miles) outside Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Borno state.
A state security service agent and Usman Musa, a member of a civilian militia that works with the
military, said Monday they counted the bodies at the mosque after the attack.
Sunday’s attacks were the latest in a slew of violence blamed on religious extremists in this West African oil producer, where the radical BokoHaram group, which wants to oust the government and impose Islamic law, poses the greatest security threat in years.
It was not immediately clear why the Islamic Boko Haram would have killed worshipping Muslims, but the group has in the past attacked mosques whose clerics have spoken out against religious extremism. Boko Haram also has attacked Christians outside churches and teachers and schoolchildren, as well as government and military targets.
Since 2010, the militants have been blamed for the killings of more than 1,700 people, according to a count conducted by Associated Press.
The news about Sunday’s violence in Borno state, one of three in the northeast under a military state of emergency, came as journalists received a video featuring Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, who gloats over recent attacks, threatens more, and even says his group is now strong enough to go after the United States.
The mosque slayings occurred Sunday morning in Konduga town, 35 kilometers (22 miles) outside Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Borno state.
A state security service agent and Usman Musa, a member of a civilian militia that works with the
military, said Monday they counted the bodies at the mosque after the attack.
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