Unidentified Gunmen Attack Mosque In Nigeria, Killing 4

[News_Editor]

Unidentified gunmen attack mosque in Nigeria, killing 4 < br />

2012-08-08 21:59:40 GMT+7 (ICT)

OKENE, NIGERIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least four people were killed Tuesday when gunmen attacked a mosque in central-southern Nigeria, just a day after a church attack claimed the lives of nineteen Christian worshipers, police said on Wednesday.

The attack happened at around 4 p.m. local time when three gunmen dressed in white regalia opened fire outside the Central Mosque near the Okene Local Government Secretariat in Kogi State, killing two soldiers and two civilians. It happened during a lecture for Ramadan, a holy fasting month for Muslims.

It was not immediately clear who was behind Tuesday's attack, but it came less than 24 hours after unidentified gunmen opened fire and killed nineteen Christian worshipers at the Deeper Life Church in Okene. It was one of a series of attacks against Nigerian Christians in recent years.

Previous attacks on Nigerian Christians have been blamed on the radical Islamic sect Boko Haram, which has been blamed for most of the region's terrorist attacks. The group is seeking the imposition of an extremist stance of the Shariah law, which is a Muslim code of conduct. The group's name, in the local language of Hausa, roughly translates as 'Western religion is sacrilegious' or 'non-Islamic religion is a sin.'

In June, at least six people were killed and more than 50 others were injured when Boko Haram militants attacked two churches in central and northeastern Nigeria. One of the attacks took place at the entrance of Lord's Chosen Church in Jos, a city in central Nigeria which divides a largely Muslim north and Christian south.

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