In another terrorist attack on a mosque during Ramadan, the global terrorist organization Boko Haram attacked the Yantaya Mosque in Jos,Nigeria. The terror attack on the mosque was committed while cleric Sani Yahaya of the Jama’atu Izalatul Bidia was promoting peaceful co-existence between people of different religions. Reports from witnesses state that gunmen started shooting sporadically at the Yantana mosque and then there was a loud blast. A witness to the Yantana mosque attack, Abubakar Shehu, told news media that “we saw two or three vehicles coming from different directions and we started hearing gunshots from all angles and then a very loud bang, like a bomb being thrown into the mosque.” The Nigeria Royal Times reports that terrorists “might have used a rocket launcher to attack the mosque.” Media stated that most mosque attack “survivors who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.” Zee News also reported that the mosque attack happened in the Yan Tyre market area of Jos, “while Tafsir (an Islamic preaching session) was ongoing.” A graphic image of the attack is being shown in some news media.
The Boko Haram terrorist group also attacked at the Shagalinku restaurant, where reportedly 15 were killed. Like the Yantaya mosque, it was also bombed. Reports of the bomb blasts were confirmed by National Emergency Management Agency coordinator Abdussalam Mohammed.
In northeastern Nigeria, the Boko Haram terrorist group attacked the Redeemed Christian Church in Potiskum Nigeria during Sunday worship services, killing six people. The attack happened as a suicide bomber, who arrived on a motorized rickshaw. The Royal Times of Nigeria reports that the police stated “A male suicide bomber detonated a bomb at Redeem Church at Jigawa area of Potiskum, killing five on the spot. ”
In northeast Borno, reports have stated that the Boko Haram terrorist group had also returned to northeastern villages attacked three days earlier, killing nine villagers and burning down 32 churches and about 300 homes.
Wire news reports are currently stating that 44 have been killed and 77 wounded in the attacks.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has spoken out on this as well. UN Human Rights Chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein told the Human Rights Council: “Interviews by my staff with former captives and survivors of Boko Haram attacks in northeast Nigeria indicate a pattern of vicious and indiscriminate attacks stretching back months, and even years. OHCHR interviews have confirmed that during their captivity – lasting in many cases for months or even years – women and girls have been sexually enslaved, raped and forced into so-called ‘marriages’. Many survivors of these horrific experiences are now pregnant by their rapists.”
