Islamic extremists on Saturday claimed responsibility for the massive rush-hour explosion earlier this week that ripped through a busy bus station in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, killing at least 75 people and wounding 141.
"Yes, we are the ones who carried out the attack in Abuja," Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram terrorist network, said in the video, which was received through the same channels as previous ones. "We are in your city, but you don't know where we are."
Monday's explosion in Abuja, 15 minutes' drive from the presidential villa, was the first attack in two years on the capital, which is in the heart of the country and hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the militants' traditional stronghold in the north-east. The death toll is expected to rise when pathologists complete their examination of the blast area.
The attack undermined government and military claims that they had contained the Islamic uprising to the extreme north-east of the country, and has raised fears that the insurgency is spreading.
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May 2013 and flooded the area with troops, who proceeded to drive out the extremists. But they have been struggling for months now to dislodge the extremists from their hideouts in the forest and in mountain caves along the border with Cameroon.
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