Nigerian officials have reported the death toll in the sectarian violence in northeastern Nigeria has risen to over 100 on Sunday. The attacks by a radical group have caused the United States Embassy in the country to warn that luxury hotels in the capital, Abuja, could be targeted. It comes less than two weeks after the US Embassy in Kenya warned of specific attacks in the country only days before attacks were carried out. The warning in Nigeria called on foreigners to stay away from the Hilton, Nicon Luxury and Sheraton hotels, which included threats against diplomats, politicians and the country's business elite. American diplomats said the Boko Haram, who were reportedly behind the attacks in the north of the country, are likely behind the threat. The embassy said its diplomats and staff had been instructed to avoid the three hotels, but an embassy spokeswoman, Deb MacLean, did not provide any details about the threat or its source. A Nigerian Red Cross official, Ibrahim Bulama, said he expected the number of dead in northeastern Nigeria to rise as clinics and hospitals counted the casualties from the attacks on Friday in Damaturu, the capital of rural Yobe State. Damaturu remained calm on Sunday as Muslim residents celebrated Eid al-Adha. Boko Haram gunmen shot and killed an inspector in the area on Sunday. BM
