Breaking News: Blast at barracks church in Kaduna, northern Nigeria

At least ten worshippers were killed this afternoon as two car bombs exploded at  the Military Protestant church inside the Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Jaji, near Kaduna. An unspecified number of worshippers were injured.

The director of army public relations, Brigadier General Bola  Koleosho, confirmed the attacks to SaharaReporters. He also disclosed that the deadly explosions happened around 12: 30 p.m. Nigerian time.

The two cars rigged with explosives rammed into the church within seconds of each other, said one eyewitness source. Two of our sources said they expected the death
toll to rise.

SaharaReporters could not confirm whether the casualties and wounded were all military personnel.

However, one source who worships at the devastated church told our correspondent that many military personnel of the Protestant faith worship at the targeted church. The source said he was not certain whether any senior military officer was in the church at the time of today’s attacks.

 The army spokesperson said he could not confirm the number of casualty as he was attending the Chief of Army Staff conference in Asaba, Delta State.

A security official in Kaduna State told SaharaReporters that no group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but he stated that the explosions were likely planned and executed by Boko Haram, an extremist Islamist group opposed to Western education and values.

Our source disclosed that various security agencies would be involved in investigating how any terrorist group was able to infiltrate Nigeria’s major military facility.

Culled: Saharareporters