NIGERIA – Suicide bomber targets Bauchi cathedral

A woman and child were killed and more than 40 injured in a suicide bomb attack on a cathedral in Bauchi yesterday – the second attack on Christians there in a week. The bomber, a woman and a young boy were confirmed dead after the blast outside St John's Cathedral in the Bayan Gari area of Bauchi town, northern Nigeria, just before 9am.  Many of the injured are said to be in a critical condition. The bomber detonated his explosives by a barricade set up to guard the church. The attack comes just a week after four gunmen fired indiscriminately on a community centre in the Zongo area of Bauchi, killing at least nine people. Tensions remain high in the town and local Christians are said to be increasingly fearful. Yesterday's bombing bore the hallmark of recent attacks by Islamist militants Boko Haram. Recent reports suggest many Boko Haram members may have relocated to neighbouring Yobe state, where 1,000 extra troops have been deployed. The group is said to have set fire to the home of the Speaker of the Yobe state House of Assembly yesterday – as well as those of an MP and the Governor's younger brother. (Sources: AllAfrica.com, Channels Television – Nigeria, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Vanguard – Nigeria) For more news and a country profile about Nigeria, click here • Pray for all those injured and bereaved in yesterday's bombing at St John's Cathedral. Pray that they will 'rest in the shadow of the Almighty' (Psalm 91:1). • Pray that state and central governments will collaborate closely to stamp out this terrorist threat.

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