143 Dead in Nigeria Attacks

An official at a hospital in northern Nigeria says at least 143 people have been killed in coordinated attacks in the nation's second largest city. The radical Islamic sect known as Boko Haram claimed responsibility for yesterday's violence in Kano, a city of more than 9 million people that remains an important political and religious hub in Nigeria's Muslim north.

A Boko Haram spokesman blamed the state government's refusal to release sect members held by police. Authorities said attackers targeted five police buildings, two immigration offices, and the local headquarters of the State Security Service, Nigeria's secret police. Boko Haram has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Sharia law across Nigeria. (More Nigerian violence stories.)