A suicide car bomber ran a security gauntlet at the main UN compound in the Nigerian capital of Abuja Friday and rammed the building, setting off a massive bomb that killed at least 18 and blew out two floors, AFP reported.A spokesman for the Islamist group Boko Haram told the BBC in a phone call that it had carried out the attack. "This was an assault on those who devote their lives to helping others. We condemn this terrible act, utterly," said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "We do not yet have precise casualty figures but they are likely to be considerable." Ban said 26 humanitarian and development agencies operated from the compound.
US President Barack Obama issued a statement from his rented vacation home in Martha's Vineyard saying he strongly condemned "today's horrific and cowardly attack… an attack on Nigerian and international public servants demonstrates the bankruptcy of the ideology that led to this heinous action." Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of bombings in recent months. There have been growing concerns the sect has formed links with extremist groups outside of Nigeria, including al Qaeda's north African branch.
The BBC reported a UN official in Nigeria, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the UN had stepped up security at all its buildings in Nigeria in the past month after receiving information that the UN could be targeted by Boko Haram. Nigerian police said 18 people were dead in Friday's blast and eight injured, with rescue work continuing, AFP reported.
"It was a Honda Accord car. The suicide bomber died immediately as the bomb cut him into three. I cannot say how many people are still in the building. The rescue operation is still on," local police commissioner Mike Zuokumor said.
One UN staff member said people were still trapped in the building that sustained heavy damage. "I don't know what is going on. Many people are still trapped upstairs and we need a crane to bring people down," the UN staffer said. Two cranes were later brought to the scene and rescue workers were trying to free those trapped on the upper floors. Rescuers scurried up ladders leaning against the building with stretchers to pull out the dead and wounded. A member of security personnel spoke of "many dead." Britain condemned the attack, describing it as a brutal act. "I was shocked to hear of today's [Friday's] bomb attack at the UN compound in Abuja. This brutal act has killed and injured many innocent people and I utterly condemn those who have carried it out," Foreign Secretary William Hague said a statement.
The UN building is located in Abuja's diplomatic zone, not far from the US Embassy. A bomb blast that rocked national police headquarters in Abuja in June was claimed by Boko Haram. (nypost.com)
