Bomber, shooter target churches

JOS, NIgeRIA • A suicide bomber blew up his car outside a church and gunmen opened fire on another service in Nigeria on Sunday, killing three people and wounding dozens in attacks claimed by Boko Haram.

The assaults were the latest in a series targeting churches in Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer, with many of the previous attacks also claimed by the Islamist group, whose insurgency has killed more than 1,000 people since mid-2009.

A purported spokesman for Boko Haram claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attacks and threatened further violence.

The attacks took place at evangelical churches in the central city of Jos and the northeastern town of Biu, both of which have been hit before by violence blamed on Boko Haram.

“The suicide bomber did not drive into the church before the explosion. He was in front of it,” police spokesman Abuh Emmanuel said of the Jos attack. “The church building collapsed entirely due to the intensity of the bombing.”

Local government spokesman Pam Ayuba said that two people plus the bomber died and 41 were wounded.

The second attack killed at least one person and wounded several when gunmen opened fire during a service in Biu, Samson Bukar, the local Christian Association of Nigeria chairman, said.