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Nigerian city of Jos hit by two deadly explosions Bombs in Nigerian city of Jos kill dozens
(35 minutes later)
Two explosions in the main business district of the central Nigerian city of Jos killed 10 people on Tuesday, according to police. At least 46 people were killed in the central Nigerian city of Jos on Tuesday after two bombs ripped through a business district packed with commuters and traders.
A Reuters reporter saw 10 bodies at the scene of the blasts in Terminus, a city centre area made up of shops, offices and a market. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosions, but the bombs bore the hallmarks of other attacks by Islamist sect Boko Haram, which has recently stepped up a bloody five-year battle campaign to establish a caliphate in northern Nigeria, and kidnapped more than 300 schoolgirls from a remote north-eastern school in April. In the past month, the group has set off two bomb blasts in the capital, Abuja, and another in the country's second city, Kano.
The city's police commissioner confirmed the death toll of 10, with several injured taken to hospital. Abdulsalam Mohd, of the Nigeria's national emergency management agency, said several ambulances and volunteers were ferrying wounded and dead from Terminus, an area home to a teaching hospital, shops, offices and a market. He said the death toll was likely to climb as victims were being pulled from smouldering rubble at the scene.
President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the blasts, calling the perpetrators "cruel and evil". "It happened very close to the market so most of the victims were people plying their trade. Some had children with them," he said by phone from the scene, above the wail of sirens.
"The government remains fully committed to winning the war against terror, and this administration will not be cowed by the atrocities of enemies of human progress and civilisation," he said in a statement. Witnesses said soldiers had erected checkpoints around the area, and firefighters were still battling to put out flames that continued to rage almost two hours after the blasts.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosions, but the Islamist sect Boko Haram, which has set off bombs across the country in its brutal campaign to establish a caliphate in northern Nigeria, is likely to be a prime suspect. Bala Mohammed, a resident who was returning home from his office nearby, said the force of the first explosion threw him to the ground. "People started running to help the wounded, and ten minutes later the second one went off. It took off the roof of the market building. Many were trapped inside, it was a terrible scene."
Boko Haram has made world headlines recently following its abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls a month ago from a remote village in the north-east. Britain, the US and France have pledged to help rescue them. Stung by recent criticism over sluggish responses to attacks, the government was quick to condemn the bombings. "President [Goodluck] Jonathan assures all Nigerians that government remains fully committed to winning the war against terror, and this administration will not be cowed by the atrocities of enemies of human progress and civilisation," a statement released from his office said.
Jos has been relatively free of attacks by the group, but it claimed responsibility for a bomb in a church and two other bombs on Christmas Day 2011. Far from Boko Haram's northern strongholds, Jos has been relatively free of attacks by the sect. The group hasn't struck there since it attempted to ignite sectarian tensions with a series of church bombs on Christmas Day 2011. Jos is at the heart of the Nigeria's volatile Middle Belt, where the country's largely Christian south and mostly Muslim north meet.
The city is in the heart of Nigeria's volatile Middle Belt, where the country's largely Christian south and mostly Muslim north meet. Since Boko Haram stepped up its campaign in Nigeria more than 1,500 people have died in the first three months of this year alone. Britain, the US and France have pledged to help rescue the schoolgirls snatched from north-eastern Borno state, marking a potential military escalation in a region already under a state of emergency.
The latest blasts occurred 15 minutes apart in the afternoon, burning several shops to the ground, shattering windows and littering the road with rubble. Boko Haram killed at least 105 in twin bomb blasts in the capital, Abuja, last month, while a suicide car bomber also killed five people in the northern city of Kano on Sunday evening, in an area mostly inhabited by southern Christians.
"There was a loud bang that shook my whole house. Then smoke was rising," said local resident Veronica Samson. "There were bodies in the streets and people rushing injured to hospital in their cars."
Boko Haram has stepped up its use of bomb attacks, including two in the capital Abuja last month. A suicide car bomber also killed five people in the northern city of Kano on Sunday evening, in an area mostly inhabited by southern Christians.