PHOTOS + Militants Claim Christmas Day Church Bombings

Boko Haram Claim Nigeria Church Attacks

A radical Muslim sect has claimed responsibility for two bomb attacks on churches in Nigeria during Christmas Day services in which at least 25 people have died.
The assaults show the growing national ambition of the sect known as Boko Haram, which is believed to be responsible for at least 491 killings this year alone.
The first explosion ripped through St Theresa Catholic Church in Madala on the outskirts of the capital Abuja.
Rescue workers recovered at least 25 bodies from the church, said National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) official Slaku Luguard.
Nema spokesman Yushau Shuaib said: "The evacuation exercise is still going on as military personnel provide security cover to rescue officers providing humanitarian services due to the tension in the area from an angry crowd.
"We are presently there, evacuating the dead and the injured but unfortunately we don't have enough ambulances.
"Most of our ambulances have gone to operate on the major highways of the country."
It was followed by another blast near the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, 150 miles away in the restive city of Jos, as explosions also struck the nation's north east.
A police officer was killed when gunmen opened fire on police guarding the area after the explosion, government spokesman Pam Ayuba said.
Two other locally made explosives were found in a nearby building and disarmed, he added.
Meanwhile, two explosions struck the north eastern city of Damaturu, including a suicide car bombing.
Local police commissioner Tanko Lawan said the headquarters of Nigeria's secret police in the area was the target of the car bomb. There is no immediate information on casualties.
Foreign Secretary William Hague voiced his concern about the "cowardly attacks on families gathered in peace and prayer".
"I condemn today's bomb attacks in or near churches in Nigeria. These are cowardly attacks on families gathered in peace and prayer to celebrate a day which symbolises harmony and goodwill towards others," Mr Hague said.
"I offer my condolences to the bereaved and injured."
The latest assaults show the growing national ambition of Boko Haram, which is believed to be responsible for at least 491 killings this year alone.
The group claimed responsibility for the August suicide bombing of the UN headquarters in Abuja that killed at least 24 people.
The sect wants to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, an oil-rich nation of more than 160 million people.
The north of the country is predominantly Muslim and the south has a mainly Christian population - the Jos area, where north meets south, is mixed.
Boko Haram's name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language.
However, instead of schooling, it rejects Western ideals like Nigeria's US-styled democracy that followers believe have destroyed the country with corrupt politicians.
Last year, the militants claimed responsibility for a series of Christmas Eve bombings in Jos that left at least 32 dead and 74 wounded.
Most recently, in three cities in the north east - where most of the violence attributed to Boko Haram has occurred - attacks blamed on the sect followed by a heavy military crackdown killed up to 100 people, authorities and a rights group have said.
The chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika, was quoted by local media as saying soldiers killed 59 sect members in Damaturu. Shootouts had taken place on Thursday and Friday.
The Vatican has denounced the attacks as a sign of "cruelty and absurd, blind hatred" that shows no respect for human life.