Abuja:
A 23-year-old Indian national was killed and six of his compatriots, including two children, were injured in a wave of coordinated bombings and gun attacks in Nigeria by an Islamic sect that left more than 180 people dead.
Kevalkumar Kalidas Rajput from Dahod in Gujarat, who worked for Kano-based firm M/s Relchem, was among those killed in Friday's deadly attacks, a statement issued by the High
Commission of India in Nigeria said today.
It said Rajput and two of his co-employees from Nepal, Hari Prasad Bhusal and Raj Singh, lost their lives when their car entered a zone of hostilities.
The High Commission said six other Indian nationals, including two small children, belonging to two families have received injuries from falling shrapnel and debris and are
being treated in Kano hospitals.
On Friday, militants shot at residents and security personnel and bombed security services offices in Kano, the second most populated city in Nigeria.
In New Delhi, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna condemned the deadly attacks in Kano and regretted the "unfortunate" loss of life.
The families of the Indian killed and those injured in the attacks have been contacted by authorities.
In fresh attacks, at least 11 people were killed at diverse locations of Nigeria's northern city of Bauchi state early today.
Sources in Tafawa Balewa community, where the attack occurred, say the Hausa-Fulani ethnic group would be blamed.
Hospital sources in Nigeria said 180 bodies were piled up in a mortuary at Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital in Kano a day after the attacks, which were claimed to have been
carried out by Islamic sect Boko Haram which is seeking imposition of 'Sharia' law in the country.
They added that the number of the dead may increase because more bodies are being brought in from different parts of the city.
A police source said he was yet to confirm the nationalities of a few dead persons confirmed to be foreigners.
The bombings, which numbered up to 20, caused pandemonium in the metropolis and were followed by shoot-outs between the militants and security agencies especially at the eastern
Bompai district of the city.
The 20-hour curfew imposed in Kano has been relaxed even as President Goodluck Jonathan assured the international community that "all engaged in the act would be made to face
the full wrath of the law."
The president is set to visit the city to personally meet the families of the victims.
Uneasy calm pervade the city today and many security checkpoints have been set up to verify new visitors to the city.
Streets were almost deserted as bodies still litter the city and Red Cross and other aid agencies helped in taking them to mortuaries. Meanwhile, the High Commission of India has offered its condolences to the families of Rajput and his two Nepalese colleagues and also wished speedy recovery to injured Indians.
"We also wish to take this opportunity to re-emphasise the need for Indian nationals to observe the terms of our Security Advisory issued on January 17, 2012. High Commission
also reiterates its earlier advisory and requests Indian nationals to register themselves with the Mission," High Commissioner to Nigeria Mahesh Sachdev said.
A spokesman of Boko Haram, Abul Qaqa, said his group was responsible for the attacks. He said they carried out the attacks because the government had refused to release members
of the group held at various prisons in Kano.
Boko Haram sect has been waging a bloody conflict to install an Islamic government and Sharia rule in the country.
A suicide bombing by the group at the United Nations headquarters in Abuja in July last year had killed 26 persons.
Condemning the multiple bombings in Kano, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said the frequency of attacks in the West African country demonstrated "unacceptable disregard" for
human life.
"The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms the multiple attacks that have taken place across the northern Nigerian city of Kano, causing large-scale casualties and
massive destruction to property," a statement from his spokesperson said in New York.
It said Ban was "appalled" at the frequency and intensity of recent attacks in Nigeria, which demonstrated "a wanton and unacceptable disregard for human life."
Recently, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan had imposed curfew in some states of the country's Muslim-dominated north because of the activities of this militant group, but Kano State was not among those areas.
Activities of Boko Haram has raised fears of religious conflict in the country, especially after the Christmas Day attacks that killed at least 40 persons in a church and
several others parts of the north.
Nigeria has a population of 150 million, with Muslims predominant in the north while Christians mostly live in the South.
In Bauchi, fears of further clashes within the city have increased as an Islamic sect called JIBWIS and founded by late sheik Jafar Mahmud Adams was getting ready to announce its opposition for Boko Haram. Meanwhile, bomb explosions in two churches in the capital of the state, Bauchi, destroyed one while the other was left damaged. They occurred before Christians turned up for worships and casualties have not been recorded, a resident said.