Monrovia/Abuja (dpa) – At least three people were killed in a bomb explosion at a mosque in the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri after Friday prayers, police sources said. Several more worshipers were wounded, police said. Maiduguri is the base of Boko Haram, the Islamist group that claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day attacks on churches in Nigeria in which 27 people died. On Thursday, Boko Haram emailed a statement to some Nigerian media that said: “If God is willing we will carry out further attacks.” New Year religious services and some festivals have been cancelled in parts of Nigeria after the Christmas Day attacks. They include the Afan festival in the central city of Kaduna, the site of several Boko Haram attacks in recent weeks. The festival is the largest ethnic celebration in the north of the country and usually takes place on the first day of the year. Priest Issac Achi of the St Teresa Catholic Church in Madalla, the target of one of the Christmas morning bombings, told dpa that midnight mass at the church was cancelled amid security concerns. “I am directing all parishes in this deaconry not to hold all-night mass (as usual) on December 31st,” he said. “Everybody will observe the night with their families.” He said the security measure was not an act “of cowardice but a reality of our time.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/iupu9 Tags: Boko Haram, Bomb, Mosque, Nigeria Section: Latest News, West Africa
