Islamists Boko Haram Responsible for Nigeria Christmas Attacks

27 people perished in 5 blasts in Nigeria Sunday. Photo from RIA Novosti

Islamist militant group Boko Haram has assumed responsibility for the bombs that exploded on Christmas Day at churches in Nigeria, one of which killed at least 27 people.

St Theresa's Catholic Church in Madala, a satellite town about 40 km from the center of the Nigerian capital Abuja, was packed out when the powerful bomb exploded during a Christmas service, global news agencies reported.

Hours after the first bomb, blasts were reported at the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church in the central, ethnically and religiously mixed town of Jos, and at a church in northern Yobe state at the town of Gadaka. Residents said many were wounded in Gadaka.

Police found two other explosive devices in Jos, which they deactivated and arrested one man.

Residents of the northeastern city of Damaturu also reported two blasts but there were no details immediately available.

Boko Haram, an Islamist group, has been increasingly active towards its goal to impose Islamic sharia law in Nigeria.

Boko Haram - which in the Hausa language spoken in northern Nigeria means "Western education is sinful" - is loosely modeled on the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.

The sect was blamed for dozens of bombings and shootings in the north, and has claimed responsibility for two bombings in Abuja this year, including Nigeria's first suicide bombing on the UN headquarters in August that killed at least 23 people.

Rights groups say more than 250 people have been killed by Boko Haram since July 2010.

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