Nigerian security services had given indications that were scaling up their operations this festive of season, but it appears these plans have not prevented another attack from happening. Residents of Peri village in Yobe state say a group of gunmen came to the village and headed straight to the church where they opened fire on worshippers. Local officials say some residents of the village fled their homes during the attack and have not returned. It’s not clear who was behind the attack, but Yobe state has been one of the scenes of violence in northern Nigeria led by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
A military plane with 27 people on board has crashed in Kazakhstan near the border with Uzbekistan. A senior figure in the Kazakh emergencies department told the media that the plane had burnt up and that only fragments remained. BBC’s Abdujalil Abdurasulov reports from Almaty.
The Antonov 72 plane was taking 20 soldiers from the capital Astana to their duty station in the southern city of Shymkent. The acting head of the border services agency was among the passengers. It is not clear if any of them has survived, but Russian news agency Interfax reports they all died. The plane crashed some 20 kilometers away from its destination as it was descending to land. A local citizen told Kazakh TV that the plane exploded like a bomb.
BBC World News
Queen Elizabeth has given her traditional Christmas address to the Commonwealth speaking of 2012 as a year of fellowship, friendship and the spirit of togetherness. In a televised speech, the Queen said those qualities had been demonstrated in the celebrations for her diamond jubilee, which marked the 60th year of her reign.