Christmas Greetings From The ROP

[bitterlyclingin]

(Instead of "Can you hear what I hear?" its Hark! You can hear the Caliphate!)

"(BBC) — Bomb blasts targeting Christmas Day church services in two Nigerian cities have left at least 28 people dead, with three more attacks on other towns.

The Islamist group Boko Haram said it had attacked St Theresa’s Church in Madalla, near the capital Abuja, killing 27 people.

A second explosion shortly after hit a church in the central city of Jos. A policeman died during gunfire.

Three attacks in northern Yobe state targeted a church and security forces.

Two hit the town of Damaturu, and a third struck Gadaka. Yobe state has been the epicentre of violence between security forces and Boko Haram militants.

National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) spokesman Yushau Shuaibu told the BBC that the latest Abuja explosion had happened in the street outside the church.

He said the church – which can hold up to 1,000 people – had been badly affected by the blast, and the number of dead was likely to rise."


Weasel Zippers » Blog Archive » Nigerian Islamist Group Boko Haram Bombs Two Churches During Christmas Prayers, 28 Killed…

 

[waltky]

Boko Haram at it again...

Nigeria’s Boko Haram poses a growing threat
Tue, Dec 27, 2011 - The Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, which claimed a wave of Christmas bombings that left at least 35 people dead, has carried out scores of attacks that have grown increasingly sophisticated.

The group is believed to include different factions with varying aims, including those with political links as well as a hard-core Islamist cell that has drawn supporters from young people in the deeply impoverished north. While it initially sought the creation of an Islamic state in the north of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with 160 million people, some people claiming to speak on its behalf have since issued a range of demands. It was long considered a domestically focused group targeting symbols of Nigerian authority, but an August suicide bombing of UN headquarters in the capital Abuja intensified concerns about Boko Haram’s ambitions. There has been intense speculation over whether it has formed links with outside extremist groups, such as al-Qaeda’s north African branch and Somalia’s al-Shabab rebels.

Diplomats say there have long been reports of Boko Haram members receiving training in foreign countries, but there has been no proof so far of operational links between the group and other extremist organizations. An early version of the group formed in 2004, initially made up of university graduates and dropouts from wealthy and middle-class families and going by the name the “Nigerian Taliban.” Drawing inspiration from the Afghan Taliban, a group of about 200 sect members set up camp in the village of Kanamma on the border with Niger. The camp was dubbed “Afghanistan,” and from there it launched attacks on police stations, killing policemen and carting away ammunition.

It came to be led by a charismatic figure named Mohammed Yusuf, who convinced young people to join him despite seeming to have only elementary knowledge of the Koran, according to one professor who has studied the sect. His fiery speeches, sold on audiotapes and DVDs in Nigeria’s north, condemned the military and corrupt leaders. Yusuf had at one point claimed to have 3,000 students, but it is difficult to find a reliable estimate of the group’s numbers. As Yusuf’s rhetoric grew more militant, the military and police assigned a task force to track Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sin” in local dialect.

A confrontation between authorities and sect followers seeking to attend a funeral for Boko Haram members killed in a road accident in 2009 led to an escalation in violence. The group then decided to launch an uprising, leading to nearly a week of fighting that ended with a military assault that left about 800 dead and the sect’s mosque and headquarters in the northeastern city of Maiduguri in ruins. Yusuf was captured during the assault and later killed when police said he was trying to escape. The sect went dormant for more than a year before re-emerging last year with a series of assassinations. Bomb blasts have since become frequent and increasingly deadly. Yusuf’s deputy, Abubakar Shekau, is widely believed to currently lead the main Islamist cell of Boko Haram. The group has said it wants to be known by a different name, roughly translated as “People Committed to the Prophet’s Teachings for Propagation and Jihad.”

Nigeria?s Boko Haram poses a growing threat - Taipei Times

See also:

Deadly Nigeria bomb attacks condemned by world leaders
25 December 2011 - There has been widespread condemnation in the international community of a series of Christmas Day bomb attacks in Nigeria that killed almost 40 people.

The White House said the attacks were "senseless violence" and the UK foreign secretary called them "cowardly". Militant Islamist group Boko Haram said it carried out the attacks. A blast outside a church near the capital Abuja claimed 35 lives, while a policeman died in the city of Jos and four people were killed in Damaturu. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said the attacks were "an unwarranted affront on our collective safety and freedom", adding: "Nigerians must stand as one to condemn them."

'Solidarity'

The White House said initial investigation showed the attacks were "terrorist acts" and pledged to help Nigeria bring those responsible to justice. Spokesman Jay Carney said: "We condemn this senseless violence and tragic loss of life on Christmas Day. We offer our sincere condolences to the Nigerian people and especially those who lost family and loved ones." French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed "solidarity in [Nigeria's] fight against terrorism", while German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said: "Even on Christmas Day, the world is not spared from cowardice and the fear of terrorism."

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "These are cowardly attacks on families gathered in peace and prayer to celebrate a day which symbolises harmony and goodwill towards others. I offer my condolences to the bereaved and injured." Israel said it would send medical aid to Nigeria and that it "condemned in the strongest terms these attacks carried out on Christmas Day". The Vatican said attacking a church was "blind hatred" seeking to "arouse and feed even more hatred and confusion". President Jonathan, who is a Christian, said: "I want to reassure all Nigerians that the government will not relent in its determination to bring to justice all the perpetrators."

Angry crowds