Just days after back-to-back car bomb explosions rocked the Nigerian city of Jos on Tuesday, the city has reportedly been hit by another bomb intended to strike an open-air TV viewing center.
Officials say at least three people are dead, including the bomber. A reporter in the area of the attack tweeted that the bomb exploded prematurely. This information could not be immediately confirmed. (Via Twitter /willintune)
The blast reportedly targeted an area crowded with soccer fans as they watched the European Champions League final between Real Madrid and Athletico Madrid. (Via PM News)
The explosion continues a string of attacks suspected to be from Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group that abducted more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls last month. (Via CNN)
At least 27 people were killed Wednesday as the group attacked two villages in north-east Nigeria, close to where the schoolgirls were kidnapped.
According to a writer for The Guardian , the Islamic group's constant string of attacks are aimed at provoking sectarian violence between the Christians and Muslims in "one of Africa's most religiously tense cities."
The Guardian goes on to explain that the attacks have actually united youths among the two religious groups in Jos.
And a piece in The Atlantic suggests a second theory behind the attacks: that Boko Haram is "little more than a brand name, a murky confluence that now also includes criminal opportunists as well as disgruntled political bosses and their henchmen."
Accoding to the BBC, more than 1,000 people have been killed in attacks linked to Boko Haram just this year.
