Death toll in Jos explosions rises to 55

The death toll in the attacks on a restaurant and on a mosque in Jos, Plateau State capital, emergency service authorities told Reuters on Monday.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Sunday night's attacks bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram insurgents.

Alhassan Muhammad of the National Emergency Management Agency said 23 people died in a suicide bombing at the Jos restaurant while 21 died in a shooting and grenade attack outside the mosque. He said 47 people had been injured.

Plateau State police spokesman, Emmanuel Abuh, had earlier confirmed reports of two attacks in Jos, the state capital.

"I saw people running out crying, some with bloodstains," said a resident, Bashir Abdullahi, describing the scene after he said a suicide bomber ran into the crowded restaurant. "I believe many lives were lost."

The second attack targeted a mosque where a well-known cleric was preaching, witnesses said. Gunmen started shooting sporadically and then there was a loud blast, they said.

"We saw two or three vehicles coming from different directions and we started hearing gunshots from all angles and then a very loud bang, like a bomb being thrown into the mosque," said witness Abubakar Shehu.

Credit: Nigerian Tribune