Suspected Boko Haram blasts in Jos leave 118 Dead

Car bombs exploded one after the other in a busy market area and adjoining bus terminal in the city of Jos in central Nigeria killing 118 people and wounding 45 on Tuesday afternoon (May 20). Although no group claimed responsibility for the attacks immediately, the Islamic fundamentalist organization Boko Haram is known to have carried out similar attacks in the country since its insurrection five years ago.

After the first blast, rescue workers rushed to the scene to gather the injured. However, the second blast which occurred a half hour later claimed the lives of some of the rescue workers, along with many onlookers present at the scene. The incident occurred in a
prominent business area in the city which also houses many shops, offices and a market.

The extremist group Boko Haram, which is alleged to be behind the attacks, has claimed many recent bomb blasts, including two in May at a bus station in the capital city of Abuja when more than 120 people were killed and 200 injured. The group also surfaced last month after the abduction of 300 young girls from a school when their chief released a video which claimed they would be selling the teenagers. The girls are yet to be found.

The Nigerian government and military have been unable to control the terror activities of the militant group, and have faced national and international outrage. Despite some of Nigeria's states being under military emergency for over a year, more than 2,000 people have been killed in 2014 itself.