KANO, Nigeria — Suspected terrorists from the Islamic extremist Boko Haram group set off four bombs that hit two churches in Kano city July 29, killing at least 45 people, sources said.
Ramsey Noah, chairman of the Kano state chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, told Morning Star News by phone the explosive devices were planted near three churches, blasting two of them as well as nearby Christian-owned businesses. The four devices were detonated minutes apart between 9 and 9:30 p.m. in the Sabon Gari area of the city, sources said.
Christians were meeting at Christ Salvation Pentecostal Church at 41 New Road when one explosion detonated, and 39 bodies were recovered in the area, Christian leaders said. Christians also were meeting at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church as another bomb went off, and an explosion apparently targeting Peniel Baptist Church did not affect the structure, Noah said.
Total deaths from the church bombings were unknown at press time, but Noah said that as security personnel moved into the area, church leaders had established that at least 45 people in the predominantly Christian area had been killed.
The pastor of Peniel Baptist Church, John Adeyemohe, told Morning Star News by phone that many Christians were killed.
“The attacks caused confusion and uncertainty in this area,” he said. “I cannot for now say how many Christians have died or were injured, but I know that several deaths have been recorded as we saw military personnel moving dead bodies away to various hospitals.”
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