Seven wounded in bomb attack on Nigeria Arabic school

28 December 2011 - 14:08 By Sapa-AFP
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A bomb was thrown into an Arabic school in Delta state in southern Nigeria, wounding at least seven, police said Wednesday, after Christmas attacks sparked fears of sectarian violence in the country.

"A locally made low-capacity explosive was thrown into an Arabic school in Sapele at 10:00 pm yesterday," said state police spokesman Charles Mouka.

"It was thrown from an unidentified moving car ... Six children and one adult were wounded. They are receiving treatment in the hospital. No deaths were recorded and no arrests have been made."

The children are between five and eight years old, he said. They had been at the school for night Arabic and Koranic lessons, said Mouka.

Christmas bombings occurred in several locations in Nigeria blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram that killed 40 people, with the deadliest an explosion outside a church near the capital Abuja as mass was ending.

Nigerian leaders have been seeking to calm tensions amid fears the Christmas attacks could set off sectarian violence in a country roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.

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