Indian killed, six Indians hurt in Nigeria terror attack

Mtoday news / PTI

Nigeria, Jan 21: An Indian was killed and six Indians, including two children, were injured in a terror attack in the Nigerian city of Kano that left over 150 people dead, said authorities.

The bodies of victims killed by multiple explosions and armed assailants in the Marhaba area of the northern Nigerian city of Kano are piled up in a pick up truck to be sent to a morgue, on January 21, 2012. Coordinated bomb attacks on January 20 targeting security forces and gun battles have killed at least 121 people in Nigeria’s second-largest city of Kano, with bodies littering the streets. AFP
The High Commission of India here said 23-year-old Kevalkumar Kalidas Rajput has died. Coordinated bomb attacks targeted security forces and gun battles broke out Friday in Nigeria’s second-largest city of Kano.

 

 

Rajput, who hailed from Gujarat, was working for Kano-based company M/s Relchem since March 2011.

He and two of his co-employees Hari Prasad Bhusal and Raj Singh - both Nepali nationals - lost their lives when their car apparently entered a zone of hostilities, said a press release.

Six Indians, including two children, belonging to two families have received injuries from falling shrapnel and debris. They are being treated in Kano hospitals.

Officials of northern Nigeria’s Kano State government said Saturday that about 150 people lost their lives in Friday’s terrorist attacks which rocked the state capital of Kano.
State Commissioner of Information Faruk Umar told Xinhua that the toll was arrived at after early morning mopping up operations by rescue and aid agencies.

The attacks are believed to be the work of members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect.
Hundreds of Nigerian troops have been deployed at major streets in northern Kano to enhance security following the multiple explosions in the city.

Armed soldiers had also been deployed at some strategic public and private buildings in the metropolis to prevent possible attacks.

Spokesperson for Boko Haram Abul Qaqa told reporters that the attacks were in response to the refusal of the Kano State government to release some fellow terrorists who had been arrested in the state.

He said they were forced to resort to the attacks after an open letter sent in 2011 to prominent people in the state were ignored.