ABUJA, Nigeria — Gunmen fired on a worship service in a church in central Nigeria, killing at least 19 people — including the pastor — and wounding others in a nation often divided by religion, the military said Tuesday. The attack targeted a Deeper Life church in the town of Otite in Kogi state, about 250 km southwest of Nigeria's capital Abuja. Blood stained the floors of the church as police and soldiers surrounded it Tuesday morning, witnesses said. It was unclear how many people were wounded in the attack Monday night. The gunmen surrounded the church in the middle of a worship service and opened fire with Kalashnikov assault rifles, military spokesman Lt. Col. Gabriel Olorunyomi said. The church's pastor was among the dead. Soldiers searched for gunmen through the night, but had made no arrests as of Tuesday morning, Olorunyomi said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Kogi State police spokesman Simon Ile declined to comment Tuesday about the attack. National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Yushau Shuaib said his agency had dispatched rescuers to the area Tuesday. The attack comes as Nigeria faces continuing attacks from a radical sect known as Boko Haram. The group has attacked churches in the past, though never as far as south. However, Boko Haram likely carried out a February prison break in the town of Koton-Karifi in Kogi state that freed 119 inmates. — AP
