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Africa Subsaharan | ||
14 dead in bombing of World Cup view site in Nigeria | ||
2014-06-19 | ||
Hours after a suicide bomber detonated explosives packed into a tricycle taxi at an outdoor World Cup viewing site in northeast Nigeria, police said the death toll was 14 with 26 people wounded.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Boko Haram, an armed group that wants to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state, was suspected.
Security experts have warned that militants might attack crowds watching the World Cup in public places in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, as they did in 2010 in Uganda. Nigeria's military has promised increased security but appears incapable of halting a stream of attacks by extremists holding more than 250 schoolgirls hostage. The kidnapping of the girls two months ago and failure of Nigeria's military and government to rescue them has roused international concern. The United States is searching for the girls with drones and has sent experts along with Britain and France to help in counter-terrorism tactics and hostage negotiation. Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau has threatened to sell the girls into slavery unless the government agrees to exchange them for detained extremists, but President Goodluck Jonathan has said he will not exchange prisoners. Nigeria's military has said it knows where the girls are but that any military campaign could get them killed. | ||
Posted by:Steve White |