Nigeria football bombing
June 1, 2014
The northeastern Nigeria town of Mubi was the site of a deadly bombing on Sunday evening, according to local authorities and residents. It was not immediately clear how many people had been killed.
A policeman speaking to news agency AFP estimated that at least 40 lives were claimed.
However, the Reuters news agency quoted a security source as saying the death toll remained uncertain.
"So far we have 14 dead while 12 are injured, some of them critically," Adamawa state police spokesperson Usman Abubakar told Reuters.
The attack targeted football fans, but it was not immediately clear whether the bomb had targeted a local television viewing center for football or the football match itself.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Mubi is roughly 845 kilometers (525 miles) northeast of the Nigerian capital Abuja and lies close to the country's border with Cameroon.
Nigeria has seen a sharp rise in attacks by the Isamist militant group Boko Haram in recent weeks. The terrorist organization has staged repeated attacks on the civilian population in a bid to overthrow the government and usher in a (strict) Islamic state. The organization operates in the northeastern region of Nigeria. Its name translates to "Western education is sin."
More to come…
kms/pfd (AFP, Reuters)