Pastor and son killed in Nigeria, church burned by suspected Islamic militants

Originally published by The Blaze

A Christian pastor and his son were killed and a church was burned by suspected Islamic militants using automatic weapons and explosives in northeast Nigeria early yesterday (Thursday, September 26) morning, according to Nigerian police.

A village leader was also killed in Dorawa, the Associated Press reported, quoting Corporal Musa Ibrahim.

According to Ibrahim, the attackers used explosives to ignite the church as well as five homes.

Dorawa is situated some 60 miles from the Yobe state school where dozens of people were killed by extremists on July 6, including some who were burned alive.

Boko Haram, the jihadi extremist group that seeks to establish Sharia law in Nigeria, is believed to have been behind the school attack, though it has not been named as being behind Thursday’s killing of the pastor.

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“Yobe is one of three northeastern states under a military emergency to try to halt an Islamic uprising by militants who have killed more than 1,700 people since 2010 in their quest to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state and ban Western education though the country of 160 million people has as many Christians as Muslims,” the AP reported.

Boko Haram has been attacking Nigeria’s Christian community, with shootings and bombings at schools, churches and elsewhere.

The State Department has yet to designate Boko Haram as a “foreign terrorist organization.”

President Barack Obama met with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in New York on Monday where they discussed terrorism and the insurgency in northern Nigeria.

According to a read-out of the meeting from the White House, the “presidents reaffirmed their commitment to fighting terrorism, including the importance of bringing the insurgency in northern Nigeria to an end.”

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Obama “underscored the importance of combating terrorism via a comprehensive approach that creates economic opportunity and ensures that human rights are protected and respected,” the White House said.