A radical Muslim sect ramped up its wave of terror in Nigeria on Sunday with a series of deadly bombing attacks, including one that killed dozens of worshippers after they celebrated Christmas Mass at a Catholic church near the capital. At least 39 people were killed in the attacks.
The sect known as Boko Haram, which has killed at least 504 people this year, claimed responsibility for the attack on St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla and also for the bombing of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church in Jos, where a police officer died during a subsequent gun battle.
A spokesman for the sect later phoned a Muslim newspaper to claim responsibility for the attacks.
A year ago, the sect claimed responsibility for a series of Christmas Eve bombings in Jos that left 32 dead and 74 wounded. The city of Jos is on the dividing line between Nigeria's predominantly Christian south and the Muslim north.
In Madalla on Sunday, the blast at St. Theresa hit shortly after 8 a.m., leaving 35 people dead and another 52 injured.
Rescue workers scrambled through the rubble of the church to save the injured, but an angry mob around the bomb site was hampering their efforts.
"We're trying to calm the situation," said Slaku Luguard, a co-ordinator with Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency. "There are some angry people around trying to cause problems."
However, Luguard was forced to acknowledge that there were not enough emergency medical responders on the scene to deal with the casualties. Luguard sent text messages to reporters to appeal for more ambulances.
In the northeastern city of Damaturu, several days of fighting between sect members and security forces has left at least 61 dead, authorities said Sunday. The police said two explosions struck the city Sunday, one in which a suicide bomber drove a car loaded with explosives into the local headquarters of the State Security Service, Nigeria's secret police. While a senior military commander survived, three people were killed in that explosion.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan issued a statement saying the attacks are an "unwarranted affront on our collective safety and freedom."
"I want to reassure all Nigerians that the government will not relent in its determination to bring to justice all the perpetrators of today's acts of violence and all others before now," Jonathan said.
Boko Haram has been campaigning for several years for the implementation of shariah law in Nigeria. Its members are scattered throughout northern Nigeria and nearby Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Nigeria's military has tried to crack down on the group in recent weeks. However, the sect appears unmoved by the efforts of what is a weak central government.
The attacks spurred condemnation from the Pope and other world leaders.
"These are cowardly attacks on families gathered in peace and prayer to celebrate a day which symbolises harmony and goodwill towards others," Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement.
The White House condemned the attacks as "senseless" and offered condolences to the Nigerian people. It promised to help authorities in the country track down those responsible and bring them to justice.
In a statement, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called for the end to sectarian violence in Nigeria.
On Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria's capital of Abuja issued a warning to American citizens to be "particularly vigilant" around churches and large crowds.
With files from The Associated Press
