5 killed in northeast Nigeria church bomb attack

At least five people have been killed in a bomb attack that targeted a church in the volatile northeastern Nigerian city of Potiskum.

According to a police officer and witnesses, the attack took place on Sunday when an assailant blew up his explosives inside an uncompleted church in the Jigawa area on the outskirts of the city in Yobe State.

“Four worshipers died instantly while the fifth victim gave up shortly after she was taken to hospital,” a police officer said.

The unnamed officer, who was involved in the evacuation operations, added that a woman and her two children were among the dead.

Meanwhile, a witness said that the attacker was disguised as a worshiper and detonated his explosives as soon as he entered the church.

“I saw when the bomber alighting from a motorized rickshaw and entering the church and as soon as he entered a loud explosion ripped through the church which is under construction,” the witness said.

No individual or group has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. However, Boko Haram Takfiri militants have repeatedly hit Potiskum, the commercial capital of Yobe.

Over the past few days, the extremist militants have also carried out a fresh wave of attacks on mosques, villages and markets in neighboring Borno State, killing over 200 people.