There has been widespread condemnation in the international community of a series of Christmas Day bomb attacks in Nigeria that killed almost 40 people.<\/p>\n
The White House said the attacks were “senseless violence” and the UK foreign secretary called them “cowardly”.<\/p>\n
Militant Islamist group Boko Haram said it carried out the attacks.<\/p>\n
A blast outside a church near the capital Abuja claimed 35 lives, while a policeman died in the city of Jos and four people were killed in Damaturu.<\/p>\n
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said the attacks were “an unwarranted affront on our collective safety and freedom”, adding: “Nigerians must stand as one to condemn them.”<\/p>\n
‘Solidarity’<\/p>\n
The White House said initial investigation showed the attacks were “terrorist acts” and pledged to help Nigeria bring those responsible to justice.<\/p>\n
Spokesman Jay Carney said: “We condemn this senseless violence and tragic loss of life on Christmas Day. We offer our sincere condolences to the Nigerian people and especially those who lost family and loved ones.”<\/p>\n
French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed “solidarity in [Nigeria’s] fight against terrorism”, while German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said: “Even on Christmas Day, the world is not spared from cowardice and the fear of terrorism.”<\/p>\n
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “These are cowardly attacks on families gathered in peace and prayer to celebrate a day which symbolises harmony and goodwill towards others. I offer my condolences to the bereaved and injured.”<\/p>\n
Israel said it would send medical aid to Nigeria and that it “condemned in the strongest terms these attacks carried out on Christmas Day”.<\/p>\n
The Vatican said attacking a church was “blind hatred” seeking to “arouse and feed even more hatred and confusion”.<\/p>\n
President Jonathan, who is a Christian, said: “I want to reassure all Nigerians that the government will not relent in its determination to bring to justice all the perpetrators.”<\/p>\n
Angry crowds<\/strong><\/p>\n The first attack, outside St Theresa’s Church in Madalla, near Abuja, killed 35 and wounded more than 50.<\/p>\n The church and surrounding homes were badly damaged.<\/p>\n Father Christopher Barde told AFP news agency the blast occurred as the Christmas morning service was ending.<\/p>\n “It was really terrible,” he said. “Some [wounded] people ran towards me [saying] ‘Father anoint me’.”<\/p>\n Crowds grew angry over the attack and the slow response of the emergency services.<\/p>\n Reuters reports that thousands of youths have erected roadblocks on the road from the capital to the largely Muslim north, and are being tackled by security forces firing tear gas.<\/p>\n In Jos, a blast close to the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church was followed by gunfire that left one officer dead, government spokesman Pam Ayuba told the Associated Press news agency.<\/p>\n Two explosive devices found in a nearby building were disarmed as military were deployed to the site.<\/p>\n In Damaturu, in the north-east, there were two explosions.<\/p>\n One was a suicide car bomb attack on a convoy of the State Security Service.<\/p>\n BBC correspondents say four people were killed there, including the suicide bomber.<\/p>\n There was also an explosion in the nearby town of Gadaka.<\/p>\n Damaturu and Gadaka are both in Yobe state, which has been the epicentre of violence between security forces and Boko Haram militants.<\/p>\n More than 60 people have died in fighting there this week.<\/p>\n A spokesman for Boko Haram, Abul-Qaqa, told local media it carried out the bomb attacks.<\/p>\n Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden”, wants the imposition of Sharia law.<\/p>\n The group carried out an August 2011 suicide attack on the UN headquarters in Abuja, in which more than 20 people were killed.<\/p>\n It was also responsible for a string of bomb blasts in Jos on Christmas Eve 2010. <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There has been widespread condemnation in the international community of a series of Christmas Day bomb attacks in Nigeria that killed almost 40 people. The White House said the attacks were “senseless violence” and the UK foreign secretary called them “cowardly”. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n