Gunmen Attack Train Near Nigerian Capital, Killing Some Riders

ABUJA, Nigeria — Gunmen attacked a practice close to Nigeria’s capital on Monday night time with explosives and gunfire, killing an unspecified variety of the practically 1,000 passengers on board, authorities and survivors informed The Related Press on Tuesday.

The attackers used explosives to first blow up the rail observe earlier than opening hearth on the practice close to Abuja in northwest Nigeria, in keeping with Fidet Okhiria, chief government of the state-owned Nigerian Railway Company. Many individuals are additionally feared to have been kidnapped, he stated.

Authorities couldn’t instantly affirm the variety of passengers on the practice however native media reported that just about 1,000 have been on board. “There have been casualties however now we have not been in a position to affirm the quantity,” Mr. Okhiria stated of the assault, the most recent in a sequence of different practice assaults.

Abdulwadud Ahmad, a survivor, stated he knew of a number of passengers killed together with somebody sitting near him.

“They bombed the observe and began exchanging hearth with the safety contained in the practice,” he informed the AP. “They subdued the safety, then got here into the practice and kidnapped lots of people.”

The practice service is a well-liked route for a lot of in Nigeria’s capital and within the neighboring Kaduna state as vacationers proceed to avoid roads infamous for kidnappings.

The assault occurred in Katari in Kaduna state, 55 miles from Nigeria’s capital, triggering fears and considerations over the security of Abuja.

No group has claimed accountability for the assault however suspicion shortly fell on the armed teams who’ve carried out 1000’s of abductions and killings within the northwest and central states of the West African nation.

The practice service on the route has been suspended.

The state authorities in Kaduna — one of many states worst hit by the cycle of violence in Nigeria’s troubled northern area — stated it had accomplished the evacuation of “trapped” passengers with assist from the safety forces.

There have been not less than three assaults reported on the Abuja-Kaduna practice service within the final yr, usually carried out by the armed teams in Nigeria’s troubled north whom authorities have declared terrorist organizations.