Search for bodies after Nigeria church blasts, riots kill 45

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Rescuers searched for bodies and hospitals struggled to find blood Monday after suicide attacks on three churches in Nigeria and subsequent rioting killed at least 45 and wounded more than 100. The attacks in northern Kaduna state that led to reprisal violence which saw Christian youths target Muslims with machetes and clubs were the latest in a wave of Sunday church bombings in Africa’s most populous nation. There was no claim of responsibility for the bombings, but Islamist group Boko Haram has carried out scores of such attacks. Suicide bombers attacked two churches in the city of Zaria and one in the city of Kaduna, killing at least 16 people, police spokesman Frank Mba said in a statement. After news of the blasts spread, Christian youths took to the main motorway that leads to the capital Abuja, attacking motorists who looked Muslim. Christian mobs carrying machetes and clubs also prowled the streets of Kaduna city on Sunday, the Red Cross said. “Many of them need surgery, but a shortage of blood is stalling treatment,” a Red Cross official in Kaduna said of the wounded on Monday. “We’re still going about looking for more bodies in these neighbourhoods.”