Nigeria: Restaurant Patrons Killed

In Nigeria 44 were killed, and 67 injured ina bomb blasts at central Nigerian mosque and at an elite restaurant Sunday night.

The explosion at Yantaya Mosque came as leading cleric Sani Yahaya of the Jama'atu Izalatul Bidia organization, which preaches peaceful co-existence of all religions, was addressing a crowd during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to survivors who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

They said they did not know how many worshippers were killed.

Another bomb exploded at Shagalinku, a restaurant patronized by state governors and other elite politicians seeking specialties from Nigeria's mainly Muslim north.

A restaurant and a mosque were targeted on Sunday night.

No group has said it carried out the attack, but militant group Boko Haram has attacked Jos before, even though it is not in north-east Nigeria where the Islamists normally operate.

The blasts are the latest in a series of deadly attacks in recent days which have seen more than 200 people killed.

The attacks came shortly after the Ramadan fast was broken, with both sites full of people.

Of the 44 dead, 23 were killed at the restaurant and 21 at the mosque, Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) says.

At least 15 people died there, Mark Lipdo of the Christian-based Stefanos Foundation told The Associated Press.

Sunday's attacks are the latest in a string blamed on Boko Haram that have killed more than 200 people over the past week in the group's northeastern stronghold.

It is not unusual for there to be a heightened risk of jihadist attacks during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

Many believe that the mosque's imam, who was preaching at the time, may have been the target.

Sheikh Muhammad Sani Yahya Jingir, who survived the attack, is known for preaching against Boko Haram and has written a book which criticises the group called Boko Halal (Western education is permitted - Boko Haram means Western education is forbidden).

He has survived a previous assassination attempt at his home and is seen as one of the most influential clerics in Nigeria.

Speaking on Monday, Sheikh Jingir said the bombing was "not an attack on an individual, it is an attack on all of us".

Boko Haram may be trying to deepen its ties with the jihadists fighting in Iraq and Syria who had called for "a month of disasters for the infidels".

Many of the recent attacks have been by suicide bombers - often young women.

Where the bombs are being made and where the bombers are being brainwashed is unclear but the Nigerian intelligence and security services need to do far more to stop the bloodshed.

Once again the range of targets is alarming and on this latest bloody Sunday a church and a mosque were bombed within hours of each other.

Jos is located where Nigeria's majority Muslim north and mainly Christian south collide. The city has been targeted in the past by bomb blasts claimed by Boko Haram Islamic extremists that have killed hundreds of people.

Jos has seen several attacks blamed on Boko Haram, including an incident in February when at least 15 died and in December last year when more than 30 people died.

The city has in the past seen clashes between Muslim and Christian communities and some have suggested that Boko Haram is looking to exploit these fault-lines.

In another development on Monday a girl aged about 13 was reported to have been killed when explosives strapped to her body went off near a major mosque in the northern city of Kano.