8 killed, 26 injured in Nigeria's train attack

Lagos, March 30 (IANS) An official in Nigeria's northern state of Kaduna confirmed that eight passengers were killed and 26 others sustained injuries in the attack on the Kaduna-Abuja train by gunmen.

Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner for internal security and home affairs in the state, who confirmed the figures in a statement on Tuesday, disclosed that the manifest received from the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) showed 362 passengers were validated as having bought tickets.

According to Aruwan, the passengers' manifest excluded NRC staff and security officials aboard the train, adding that several passengers were unaccounted for, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said investigations were still ongoing to ascertain the status of the passengers who were riding the train and remain unaccounted for as of this update.

On Monday night, a passenger train en route to Kaduna from Abuja, the Nigerian capital, was attacked by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in Rijana, a town in Kaduna. The terrorists had planted explosive devices along the rail track, and when the Abuja-Kaduna bound train approached the point, the device exploded, causing the train to derail.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday strongly condemned the bombing of the passenger train, describing it as a matter of grave concern.