20120313
AFP
Gunmen shot dead three Christians in Nigeria near the flashpoint city of Jos, hours after 10 people were killed in a suicide bombing and related violence at a church, an official said Monday.

In a separate incident in the northern city of Kano, gunmen in a car opened fire early Monday on a police station that has been the target of several attacks, wounding two officers, according to residents.

The gunmen near Jos struck late Sunday in a village south of the city where Christian-Muslim tensions ran high after the church attack, state government spokesman Pam Ayuba told AFP, though the two attacks were not thought to be linked.

"Unknown gunmen, in an apparent ambush late Sunday, waylaid and shot dead three people and injured three others -- all Christians -- in Chugwi village," Ayuba said.

Such violence has occurred repeatedly in and around Jos, located in the middle belt region of Africa's most populous nation between the mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.

Clashes between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups in the area have killed thousands in recent years.

"We suspect that the attackers were herdsmen. They left with the handsets of those killed and called numbers on their phones to alert their (the victims') relations that they were responsible for the killings," he said from the scene of the attack.

Ayuba, who is a native of the Christian village, said no arrests have been made. The victims included two brothers aged 25 and 30, he said.

Three other people at Dogo Garba, a nearby hamlet, were wounded by the same gunmen and were taken to a nearby government hospital for treatment, he added.

The shootings came hours after a suicide attack outside a Roman Catholic church in Jos killed seven people, sparking panic and reprisals in which security forces opened fire and youths clashed, leaving three others dead.

It was the second suicide attack on a church in the city in two weeks, after a February 26 attack claimed by Islamist group Boko Haram killed three people and injured dozens.

Government and relief officials told AFP that in addition to the 10 killed, 24 people were injured and had been taken to three government hospitals in the city.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan condemned Sunday's bombing and reaffirmed his government's determination "to end the spate of mindless attacks and killings".

Jos remained tense in the aftermath of the bombing amid fears of a repeat of deadly riots which followed last month's attack.

The volatile city was gradually returning to normal Monday morning with banks and shops opening for business, residents said.

No one has claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing.

Monday's attack in Kano occurred at Mandawari police station, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected members of Boko Haram.

Boko Haram carried out its deadliest attack yet in Kano, Nigeria's second-largest city, with coordinated bombings and shootings on January 20 which killed 185 people.