ABUJA, Nigeria — Gunmen attacked a prepare 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 fireplace on the prepare close to Abuja in northwest Nigeria, in accordance 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 verify the variety of passengers on the prepare 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 verify the quantity,” Mr. Okhiria stated of the assault, the newest in a sequence of different prepare 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 fireplace with the safety contained in the prepare,” he informed the AP. “They subdued the safety, then got here into the prepare and kidnapped lots of people.”
The prepare service is a well-liked route for a lot of in Nigeria’s capital and within the neighboring Kaduna state as vacationers proceed to steer clear of 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 duty for the assault however suspicion shortly fell on the armed teams who’ve carried out hundreds of abductions and killings within the northwest and central states of the West African nation.
The prepare 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 prepare service within the final 12 months, typically carried out by the armed teams in Nigeria’s troubled north whom authorities have declared terrorist organizations.