Botched blast targets Nigeria football fans

Botched suicide bombing meant to target football fans kills three in the central Nigerian city of Jos.

Nigeria Jos map

A botched suicide bombing that was meant to target an open air viewing of a football match in the central Nigerian city of Jos has killed three people, a witness says.

The bomber approached Jos View Centre while people were watching Real Madrid play Atletico Madrid, but failed to get there before his car exploded, Mohammed Shittu, a local journalist at the scene told Reuters news agency on Saturday.

The attempt followed a bombing in downtown Jos on Tuesday that killed 118 people.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the latest attack.

On Thursday suspected Boko Haram gunmen rampaged through three villages in Borno state in northern Nigeria, killing 28 people and burning houses to the ground according to police and witnesses.

The rebel group initially attacked mostly security forces and government officials after they launched their uprising in northeast Borno state’s capital Maiduguri in 2009.

When President Goodluck Jonathan ordered an offensive a year ago to flush them out, civilians formed vigilante groups to help out – making them targets too.

Source: News Agencies