April 9, 2012
A suicide car bomber detonated his explosives yesterday morning on a busy road in Kaduna, Nigeria after attempting to drive into a church compound holding Easter services and apparently being turned away by a security guard, the Christian Science Monitor reports. At least 38 were killed in the blast, which damaged the nearby All Nations Christian Assembly Church and the ECWA Good News Church and left debris strewn across the major road where many were gathered at restaurants and shops. Witnesses said it appeared the car attempted to go into the compound of the churches before it detonated, but was blocked by barriers in the street and turned away by a security guard as police approached. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion falls on Boko Haram, the radical Islamist sect responsible for hundreds of killings in Nigeria this year alone. Christians have been increasingly targeted on holy days, such as the Christmas Day bombing of a church in Madalla that killed at least 44.
