Nigerian president visits site of deadly bomb attacks as violence continues

GlobalPost

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan visited Kano today where as many as 178 people were killed in a series of co-ordinated attacks last week, BBC reported.

The Christian president met with survivors of the attack in hospitals, and with the mostly Muslim city’s Emir. The Islamic extremist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attacks, which reportedly involved two suicide bombers.

"These suicide attacks are not really part of us – they are quite new to us," Jonathan told BBC at the conclusion of a quick tour. "Unfortunately the whole world is passing through terror attacks – a very ugly stage of our history. We know that we will get over it. We will continue to fight – the security services will not rest till we clean up the country."

The president’s visit came as more violence erupted in Nigeria. Reuters reported 10 people were killed during a botched bank robbery; Boko Haram is suspected of attacking financial institutions to fund its activities.

"In the early hours of today, gunmen killed 10 people at a military checkpoint and a nearby hotel at Tafawa Balewa local government area," said police commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba. "One police officer, an army corporal and eight civilians (were killed) after gunmen were earlier repelled from robbing a bank."

More on GlobalPost: Dozens killed in co-ordinated bomb, gun attacks

On Friday, members of Boko Haram attacked police stations and other government buildings in retaliation for recent arrests, Reuters said.

A doctor in Kano said the death toll might continue to climb as officials there sort through the chaos.

"We have 178 people killed in the two main hospitals," he said. "There could be more, because some bodies have not yet come in and others were collected early."

Kano, Nigeria’s second-largest city, is under a 24-hour curfew because of the violence, Voice of America said. Boko Haram is also responsible for a Christmas-day attack that left 40 dead at a Nigerian church.

Jonathan said he’s not going to rest until the “terrorists” are brought to justice. He suggested rooting out Boko Haram’s financial supporters.

"Terrorists all over the world have their source of income,” he told BBC. “We are also looking to those areas to make sure that so-called Boko Haram … those who are encouraging them, those who are sponsoring them, will shortly be brought to book."

More on GlobalPost: Boko Haram violence has many causes

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