Nigeria - Bomb Near Bauchi Beer Garden Kills Boy, Wounds 10 Other People

Police in Nigeria say a bomb hidden inside a wheelbarrow exploded near a beer garden in the north of the country, killing a 6-year-old boy and wounding 10 other people.

Sunday’s explosion in Bauchi struck a local bar many gather at to enjoy beer, despite the state being ruled under Shariah law. Bauchi state police commissioner Mohammed Ladan said the blast killed the boy, who was near the bar.

Adamu Abubakar, a Red Cross official, said security forces had surrounded the area.

Bauchi has been previously struck by sectarian violence sweeping across Nigeria’s north from a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram. However, the sect did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack.

Boko Haram has killed hundreds of people this year in its campaign against Jonathan's administration, part of its goal to carve out an Islamic state in Africa's most populous nation.

The sect claimed it carried out attacks in central Plateau state earlier this month that killed at least 65 people. This region has suffered religious clashes for more than a decade but has not previously been targeted by Boko Haram.

Jonathan said, however, that Boko Haram had nothing to do with the clashes. He blamed them on long-running tension between mostly-Muslim Fulani herdsmen and largely-Christian Berom communities over who land rights in Plateau.