16 people die after car bomb hits UN office in Nigeria
Posted August 26, 2011 8:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
At least 16 people have been killed in a car bombing at a United Nations office in the capital of Nigeria Friday.
A radical Muslim sect seeking to implement Sharia law has claimed responsibility for the attack in the oil-rich nation. A spokesman for Boko Haram spoke with the BBC shortly after Friday’s bombing.
A car reportedly crashed through two separate gates at the UN compound and drove up to the main reception area. The driver then detonated the explosives-laden vehicle, destroying an entire wing of the UN complex.
About 400 people work at the offices in Abuja. As many as 40 people were reportedly treated at a local hospital after the blast.
Large cranes were brought in to remove concrete and rubble in an effort to find survivors.
Nigeria is divided between a mostly Christian south and Muslim north and faces threats on several fronts.
Boko Haram, which translates to “Western education is sacrilege,” is responsible for assassinations and bombings, including a car bombing in June at the federal police headquarters that killed two people.
With files from The Associated Press
