Attacks by radical Muslim sect in Nigeria kill 67

Group vows more violence targeting weak government

By Jon Gambrell

Associated Press / November 6, 2011

Text size – +

At least 67 people died in a wave of bombings and shootings carried out in northeast Nigeria overnight Friday, officials said yesterday, as frightened mourners left their homes to begin burying their dead. A radical Muslim sect known locally as Boko Haram claimed responsibility yesterday for the attacks, which represent the most coordinated and wide-ranging assault yet in their increasingly bloody sectarian fight with Nigeria’s weak central government. The sect, which wants the strict implementation of Sharia law across the nation of more than 160 million people, promised to carry out more attacks.

For more from BostonGlobe.com, sign up or log in below