Islamists may hit Nigerian hotels, U.S. warns

Luxury hotels frequented by foreigners and Nigeria's elite may be bombed by a radical Muslim sect as the death toll from weekend attacks in the country's northeast rose to more than 100, U.S. Embassy officials warned.

The unusually specific warning from the embassy shows how seriously diplomats take the threat posed by the outlawed Islamist group known locally as Boko Haram, which previously bombed the United Nations headquarters in the capital, Abuja, killing 24.

Possible targets in Abuja included the Hilton, Nicon Luxury and Sheraton hotels, the U.S. warning said. With popular restaurants and bars, the hotels draw diplomats, politicians and even reformed oil delta militants. The embassy said an attack may come as Muslims in the oil-rich nation celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday and that its diplomats and staff had been instructed to avoid those hotels.

Still, Nigerian officials continued to downplay the threat posed by the militants, hoping to reassure Africa's most populous nation that everything remains under control in a country often violently divided by religious and ethnic differences.

"We're all expected to live in peace, but as a nation, we have our own challenges," President Goodluck Jonathan said in a speech televised nationally.

"During this holy period, we still have incidents happening here and there," added Jonathan, a Christian, who appeared wearing a prayer cap and the traditional robes of the country's Muslim north.

Bloody sectarian fight

It wouldn't be the first time Abuja saw itself targeted by Boko Haram, which has waged an increasingly bloody sectarian fight against Nigeria's weak central government. A suicide bomber claimed by the group attacked the UN headquarters in August, while another bomber targeted the federal police headquarters in June.

Still, most attacks have targeted Nigeria's arid and impoverished northeast, so any strike against hotels in Abuja would be an escalation that shows the group's ability to strike at will — even against foreigners and its elite.

The warning came as a Nigerian Red Cross official said more than 100 people had been killed in a series of attacks Friday in the northeast. Ibrahim Bulama said he expected the death toll to rise in Damaturu, the capital of rural Yobe state. He said mourners quickly buried some bodies in line with Muslim tradition, making a precise count difficult.

Boko Haram's name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language. The group rejects Western ideals such as Nigeria's U.S.-styled democracy. Followers believe that democracy has destroyed the country with corrupt politicians.