Death toll rises to 180 in Nigeria blasts, say hospital sources

Jan 22, 2012, 11:55 GMT

Monrovia/Abuja - The death toll two days after coordinated bomb attacks in the northern Nigerian city of Kano had risen to 180, hospital sources said Sunday.

Officials put the death toll at 120, but medics at one of Kano's largest hospitals said they had counted 180 bodies.

Many are charred beyond recognition, leaving relatives the difficult task of identifying bodies ahead of the swift funerals required by Muslim standards.

The attacks, which targeted at least four sites around the city - including police and immigration offices and a motor park - were launched late Friday.

Three suicide bombers died in the blasts.

They are the worst attacks by the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram to ever hit Nigeria.

In a statement, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said: 'Ours is a campaign against the government, the law enforcement and the Christian Association of Nigeria, because they have slaughtered us.'

Boko Haram is calling for sharia law to be implemented across Nigeria, and for recognition of growing tensions between the country's predominately Christian south and Muslim north.

President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the attacks Sunday.

'It is with a heart full of sadness and pain that I convey my condolences on behalf of the federal government of Nigeria to the families, friends and associates of all those who lost their lives,' he said.

'These are honest and patriotic Nigerians who were brutally and recklessly cut down by agents of terror. As a responsible government, we will not fold our hands and watch enemies of democracy - for that is what these mindless killers (do) - perpetrate unprecedented evil in our land,' he added.

France, Italy and Britain also released statements condemning the attacks Saturday.

Witnesses said teenagers on motorbikes carried out the blasts. Gunfire was also reported. At one site, the police headquarters in the area of Marhaba, a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into the wall of the building.

At an immigration office, at least three officers were shot dead on the spot before explosives were hurled.

Witness Jafaru Isaw said he saw 'mangled bodies being removed from the debris,' followed by 'intermittent gunshots.'

'It looked like one of those incredulous things you see in a war movie, the shootings were deafening,' he said.

Among the dead was 31-year-old television journalist Eneche Akogwu, who had been interviewing witnesses of the attacks.