Eight die in Nigeria church bombing

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – At least eight worshippers were killed Sunday in a suicide attack on a Roman Catholic Church in northern Nigeria, according to officials. About 100 other people were injured.

Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency confirmed that eight people died in the blast in Kaduna. No group immediately claimed responsibility. However, the bombing bore the hallmarks of previous attacks by the Islamist insurgent militia Boko Haram, which models itself on Afghanistan’s Taliban and wants to impose Islamic law across the country.

The attacker approached the church in a vehicle laden with explosives early Sunday, but was turned back, according to news agencies. The driver then reversed, accelerated and slammed the vehicle into a church wall, detonating the blast.

The bombing sparked revenge attacks, with two Muslim men killed, including one who was set upon by a mob and burned alive, it was reported.