Suicide Attack in Bauchi Claimed 2 Lives Leaving 48 Wounded

KANO, Nigeria — A suicide bomber who tried to ram an explosives-packed car into a Nigerian church on Sunday killed a woman and an eight-year-old boy, while wounding dozens more, the Red Cross and police said.

The attacker targeted the St. John's Catholic Church in the northern city of Bauchi, where tight security was imposed after a wave of church bombings claimed by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram.

Worshippers were being screened outside the building in the city's Wunti area when the bomber approached at roughly 9:00 am (0800 GMT).

"He couldn't reach the church ... because of the barriers," and so rammed his Opel Vectra sedan into the line of people waiting to enter Sunday services, Bauchi state police spokesman Mohammed Hassan said.

"rammed his Opel Vectra sedan into the line of people waiting to enter Sunday services,"


"We have three dead in all, including the bomber, a woman and a child. Forty-eight others were seriously injured in the explosion," said the head of the Red Cross in Bauchi state, Adamu Abubakar.

The woman was killed instantly, while the eight-year-old boy later died at a hospital, according to Hassan.

You might recall that the islamic sect claimed a similar attack on June 3 in Bauchi city in which a suicide bomber killed at least 15 people at a church during Sunday worship.

AFP