Nigeria heads of State and Government knocked churches after Islamists attack

1 of 8. In a view, the scene of a bomb explosion at the Theresa Catholic Church is St. at Madalla, Abuja, outside Nigeria's capital Abuja, December 25 2011. Islamist militant group Boko Haram said that it placed bombs that exploded on Christmas day in churches in Nigeria, one of which killed at least 27 people on the fringes of the capital.

IMG credit: Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde

By Felix Onuah and Camillus Eboh

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria there is no competent leaders and former military ruler, one said heads of Government to address the security issues, on Monday, after Christmas bomb attacks on churches by Islamist fighters, more than two dozen people killed.

Muhammadu Buhari, a northern lights, lost to incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, said in a statement in the Nigerian daily the last presidential election in April, that the Government was only slowly responding and shown indifference to the bombings.

The Boko Haram Islamic sect which aims, Sharia law over Africa's most populous country to impose responsibility for three Church bombs claimed the second Christmas in a row it led massacre on Christian houses of worship.

Security forces blamed the sect for two explosions in the North and fear grows that Boko Haram trying to ignite a sectarian civil war in a country split evenly between Christians and Muslims exist side by side for the most part in peace.

"How on earth would the Vatican and speak the British authorities, before the Nigerian Government to attacks in Nigeria, which have led to the death of our citizens?" Buhari, said in the statement by punch newspaper published.

"This is clearly a mistake of the leadership at a time, which must to ensure Government the people the ability to ensure the safety of life and property," said Buhari.

He said the Government more than had to spend more on security to deal with the problem.

Jonathan, would a Christian from the South, is fighting the threat of Islamic militancy, as the attacks "unhappy", but said Boko Haram "be (roughly) forever." "It will be to stop one day."

Pope Benedict on Monday condemned the attacks as "absurd" gesture and prayed that "the hands of the violent end."

The Pope, speaking from his window overlooking St Peter's square in Rome, said, that violence brought only pain, destruction and death.

COORDINATED ATTACKS

The attacks, which clashes between security forces and Boko Haram came a few days after which killed at least 68 people, evidence of more coordination and strategy of the group, which could be sounding the alarm bell in Nigeria and Western capitals.

St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madala, a satellite town, about 40 km (25 miles) from the Centre of the capital Abuja, was packed, when the first explosion exploded Gates after Christmas mass.

A few hours later, mountain of fire and miracles were reported at the Church in the Central, ethnically and religiously mixed city of Jos and in a church in Gadaka in the Northern State of Yobe State blasts. Residents said many wounded at Gadaka, but there were no immediate further details.

A suicide bomber killed four officials of the State security service in one of the other attacks in northeastern Damaturu was announced by the police. Residents heard two loud explosions and shots in the city.

Reuters reporter at the Church near the city of Abuja saw that the front roof had been destroyed, as several houses nearby had. Five cars were burnt out still smoldering. There were scenes of chaos as shocked disbelief staring people in the rubble.

"" Mass just gone and people were noise from the Church, and suddenly I heard a loud noise: "Gbam!" Cars were on fire and bodies strewn everywhere ", said veneciay minke Reuters."

Father Christopher Bard, Assistant pastor of the Church, said: "the officials counted me said they have collected 27 make so far." Police closed off area around the Church. Thousands of angry youths, you set roadblocks burn on the motorway from Abuja results in predominantly Muslim Northern Nigeria.

Police and military trying to dispel it by burning life shot into the air with tear gas.

"We are so angry!" Kingsley Ukpabi cried vehicles, as a queue of the OWL behind his flaming barrage lined up.

VIOLENCE CREDIT SPREADS

Boko Haram - in the Hausa language in Northern Nigeria speaking means "Western education sin" – is modeled loosely on the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.

The low level insurgency to the limited largely to Nigeria, but there are several parts to the North, Centre and Abuja fell this year.

Last Christmas Eve, a series of bomb blasts to Jos killed 32 people and other people died in attacks on two churches in the North-East.

A wounded man whose Beine were almost crushed into pieces by the explosion of security services on a stretcher in close to an ambulance was loaded at the Church near the city of Abuja.

"I will survive," he said in a quiet voice.

The explosion in Jos, a powder keg of ethnic and religious tensions occurred deadly clashes between Muslims and Christians have a spree shooting of militant, accompanied the fire was exchanged with the local police, Charles Ezeocha, Jos task force spokesman said.

"We have lost a policeman and we have four arrests." I believe that we get further information and work on it can use, "he said." Police found four other explosive devices in Jos, which disabled them, he added.

The White House condemned "This senseless violence and tragic loss of life at Christmas."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the attacks and expressed his condolences "the people of Nigeria and the members of the."

"The Secretary-General once again calls for an end to all acts of sectarian violence in the country and reaffirms its belief that this use of violence can justify not an end,", a statement said published by his Office.

(Additional reporting by Tim cocks in Lagos, Tife Owolabi and Buhari Bello in Jos, Mike Oboh in Kano, correspondent in Maiduguri and Philip Pullella in Vatican City;) Write by Tim cocks and BATE Borisov Felix; (Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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U.S. reserves right to meet cyber attack with force

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By David Alexander

WASHINGTON | Tue Nov 15, 2011 10:34pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States reserves the right to retaliate with military force against a cyber attack and is working to sharpen its ability to track down the source of any breach, the Pentagon said in a report made public on Tuesday.

The 12-page report to Congress, mandated by the 2011 Defense Authorization Act, was one of the clearest statements to date of U.S. cybersecurity policy and the role of the military in the event of a computer-borne attack.

"When warranted, we will respond to hostile attacks in cyberspace as we would to any other threat to our country," the report said. "We reserve the right to use all necessary means - diplomatic, informational, military and economic - to defend our nation, our allies, our partners and our interests."

Hostile acts, it said, could include "significant cyber attacks directed against the U.S. economy, government or military" and the response could use electronic means or more conventional military options.

Cyberspace is a particularly challenging domain for the Pentagon.

Defense Department employees operate more than 15,000 computer networks with 7 million computers at hundreds of locations around the world. Their networks are probed millions of times a day and penetrations have caused the loss of thousands of files.

Private companies also face relentless cyber attacks, including an increasing number linked to countries like China and Russia, and they have grown increasingly frustrated about the U.S. government's lack of response.

"There is a massive amount of frustration on the part of the private sector," Dmitri Alperovitch, the former vice president of threat research at McAfee, told an event hosted by the George C. Marshall Institute.

U.S. companies are losing billions of dollars to cyber theft each year, he said.

"Nothing is being done," Alperovitch said. "Something has to be done from a policy perspective to address the threat ... The fact that it is China, the fact that it is Russia. What are we going to do to face those countries and get them to stop?"

The report said the Defense Department was attempting to deter aggression in cyberspace by developing effective defenses that prevent adversaries from achieving their objectives and by finding ways to make attackers pay a price for their actions.

"Should the 'deny objectives' element of deterrence not prove adequate," the report said, "DoD (Department of Defense) maintains, and is further developing, the ability to respond militarily in cyberspace and in other domains."

FINDING THE ATTACKERS

Key to a military response is being able to quickly identify the source of an attack, particularly challenging due to the anonymous nature of the Internet, the report said.

In an effort to crack that problem, the Pentagon is supporting research focusing on tracing the physical source of an attack and using behavior-based algorithms to assess the likely identity of an attacker, the report said.

U.S. security agencies also are grooming a cadre of highly skilled cyber forensics experts and are working with international partners to share information in a timely manner about cyber threats, including malicious code and the people behind it, it said.

Attacks on U.S. computer networks have become more frequent and more damaging in recent years, costing U.S. companies an estimated $1 trillion in lost intellectual property, competitiveness and damage. One defense company lost some 24,000 files in an intrusion in March.

Lani Kass, who recently retired as a senior policy adviser to the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said enemies of the United States were becoming more savvy every day.

"You have got to assume that what we do in cyberspace can be done to us quicker, cheaper and with fewer restrictions," she told Reuters after the Marshall Institute event.

Before moving to offensive action, the United States would exhaust all other options, weigh the risk of action against the cost of inaction and "act in a way that reflects our values and strengthens our legitimacy, seeking broad international support wherever possible," the report said.

"If directed by the president, DoD will conduct offensive cyber operations in a manner consistent with the policy principles and legal regimes that the department follows for kinetic capabilities, including the law of armed conflict," the report said.

The report followed the release in mid-July of the Pentagon's cybersecurity policy, which designated cyberspace as an "operational domain" like land, sea and air where U.S. forces would be trained to conduct offensive and defensive operations.

(Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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Saudi prince warns against any attack on Iran

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WASHINGTON | Tue Nov 15, 2011 5:51pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A military attack on Iran aimed at halting its nuclear program could have catastrophic consequences and only strengthen Tehran's determination to make an atomic weapon, the former head of Saudi Arabia's intelligence services said on Tuesday.

"Such an act I think would be foolish and to undertake it I think would be tragic," Prince Turki al-Faisal said at a Washington, D.C., appearance.

"If anything it will only make the Iranians more determined to produce an atomic bomb. It will rally support for the government among the population, and it will not end the program. It will merely delay it if anything."

Tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions have increased this month since the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Tehran appeared to have worked on designing a bomb and may still be conducting secret research to that end.

The United States has advocated increasing pressure on Tehran through additional sanctions.

But there has been speculation in the Israeli media that Israel might strike Iran's nuclear sites, and U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney declared in a debate on Saturday that he would be willing to go to war to stop Tehran from getting nuclear weapons.

Prince Turki, who retired in 2006 but remains an influential voice in Saudi Arabia's ruling family, said prior military campaigns such as in Iraq had shown how unpredictable that route can be.

"An attack on Iran I think will have catastrophic consequences," the prince said, citing both human costs and the fact that "the retaliation by Iran will be worldwide."

"It will include a lot of U.S. and other interests throughout the world ...they can do harm in a lot of places," he said.

Saudi Arabia remained concerned over Iran's nuclear ambitions and its "meddling" in other countries including an alleged Iran-backed assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador in Washington and a separate alleged plot to stage attacks in Bahrain.

Iran has rejected both accusations, saying they are aimed at stoking fears in the region.

The prince said that while Saudi Arabia did not favor a military option, it would continue to press Iran publicly, including possibly at the United Nations, in hopes of heading off future threats.

"We fully support tightening of the sanctions, assertive diplomacy and concerted action via the United Nations," he said.

(Reporting by Andrew Quinn; editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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Suicide bombers, gunmen attack northeast Nigeria

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MAIDUGURI, Nigeria | Fri Nov 4, 2011 8:34pm EDT

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - A triple suicide bombing of military headquarters in Maiduguri and three roadside bombs in different areas shook northeast Nigeria's biggest city Friday, while militants launched multiple gun and bomb attacks two other cities west of it, witnesses and the military said.

It was one of the most violent days in radical Islamist sect Boko Haram's growing campaign of violence against local authorities in dry, dusty northeastern Borno state.

"One soldier and six civilians have been injured by the three suicide bombers in multiple blasts," Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed, commander of the Joint Military Taskforce for Borno state, told Reuters.

Earlier, three roadside bombs exploded in quick succession in an apparently coordinated strike, hitting the wards of Meduguri and Jajeri and the El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology, all of them around the time of Friday prayers, sending the Muslim faithful fleeing from their mosques.

The northeast's almost daily shootings and frequent bombings in the past months have been blamed on Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden." The attacks usually target public and religious figures in the poor, semi-arid north.

If the attack on the military headquarters is confirmed to be the work of Boko Haram suicide bombers, it will mark the second confirmed time the group have used this tactic.

The other was a suicide car bomb attack against the United Nations' Nigeria headquarters in Abuja, which killed 26 people and gutted several floors of the building.

Boko Haram says it wants sharia law more widely imposed across Nigeria. It draws much of its support from unemployed youths in the remote, economically deprived north.

The group appears to be growing in sophistication and security analysts believe it has made links with al Qaeda's north African affiliate -- al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb.

A local security source said it was not yet clear if there were any casualties from the three bomb blasts in Maiduguri.

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen later attacked the towns of Damaturu and Potiskum, next to each other about 100 km west of Maiduguri, in Yobe state, and engaged in running gun battles with security forces, witnesses said.

Residents heard several explosions, which later turned out to be bombings of small local churches and a police stations, they said.

"Several police stations and churches were bombed. The whole problem started around 6 p.m. this evening, when there was exchange of gun fire between the sect and the security operatives," said Damaturu resident Umar Gambo. "It's horrible."

Another witness in Damaturu, a local journalist who declined to be named, said he had seen a group of 10 militants had attacked a mosque and the local police headquarters.

"We are all indoors while the fighting is going on. Damaturu and Potiskum my home town are under siege. The Boko Haram sect have taken over the towns and the security men are battling them. No one is safe," said Potiskum resident Mammam Mohammed.

Security forces this week started door-to-door searches for weapons in the northeast, after an arms amnesty for Islamist militants expired on October 31. It was unclear whether or not this spate of attacks was a response to that operation.

(Reporting by a correspondent in Maiduguri and Mike Oboh in Kano; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Alison Williams)

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