KADUNA, Nigeria (AP) — Bomb blasts appearing to target former Nigerian military ruler Muhammadu Buhari and a prominent moderate Muslim cleric killed dozens of people Wednesday, but left both leaders unharmed, according to Nigerian state security.

At least 39 other people were killed in the two blasts, said State Police Commissioner Umar Usman Shehu. The death toll is expected to rise, as witnesses at both bomb sites said dozens of people were killed in each of the blasts.

The bombings were condemned by President Goodluck Jonathan who said he "denounces the dastardly targeting of the prominent political and religious leaders by terrorists and enemies of the nation in an odious attempt to inflame passions and exacerbate disquiet, fear, insecurity and sectional divisions in the country."

After surviving the marketplace bombing, Buhari said the attack "clearly an assassination attempt, came from a fast moving vehicle that made many attempts to overtake my security car. I came out unhurt, but with three of my security staff sustaining minor injuries."

Buhari is currently a leader of Nigeria's leading opposition party who has been outspokenly critical of President Jonathan. He is not yet a candidate for president as no contenders have been formally declared ahead of 2015 elections.

The other bombing appeared to target Sheik Dahiru Bauchi, who gave an annual Ramadan speech to thousands of faithful in an outdoor service. Bauchi is known for preaching against the violent extremism of Nigeria's Islamic militants, Boko Haram.

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"They were waiting for him," said police commissioner Shehu of the boy who threw a bomb at the sheik. "It's when he was passing the boy headed to him."

The cleric survived the blast but the boy was killed, said the police commissioner, who added that no arrests were made immediately.

The second blast, which hit the Kaduna marketplace where Buhari was about two and a half hours after the first explosion, left bodies and body parts scattered, said witnesses. More than 50 vehicles were destroyed, the witnesses said.

A 24-hour curfew was declared by Kaduna state governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero immediately after Wednesday's bombings, leaving many people stranded at their jobs, unable to go home for the night.

The governor did not directly blame Boko Haram but called the attackers a "common enemy" who are not true Muslims.

"Enemies of peace have visited us with their ungodly venom of wanton destruction of human lives," said Yero in a statement. "This blast, coming in the holy month of Ramadan is a clear indication that those behind the act have no iota of fear of God."

The U.S. State Department in a statement said the U.S. "deplores" the twin bombings and urges all Nigerians to avoid revenge attacks.

Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in five years of insurgency in Nigeria, including several prominent sheiks and politicians.

Kaduna is outside the region of Nigeria that is under emergency rule but it has been frequently targeted for violence by Boko Haram militants. In recent months, the Boko Haram insurgency has intensified, with near-daily attacks in the north, three bombings in the capital, Abuja, and more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped and held captive now for 100 days.

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Murdock reported from Abuja, Nigeria.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm on Wednesday that 20 rockets found hidden in a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip had gone missing and directed the world body to deploy experts to deal with the situation.

The main U.N. agency in Gaza, UNRWA, found the rockets in one of its vacant schools a week ago. It found a second batch in a vacant school on Tuesday, but said in a statement that because staff were withdrawn quickly, they were "unable to confirm the precise number."

In both cases UNRWA said it "informed the relevant parties," but did not identify who had been contacted. Islamist militant group Hamas is the dominant group in the coastal enclave and has been fighting with Israeli troops for the past two weeks.

Ban "expresses his outrage and regret at the placing of weapons in a U.N.-administered school," a United Nations statement said. UNRWA is sheltering 102,000 people in 69 of its schools amid the renewed violence.

"By doing so, those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children, UN employees working in such facilities and anyone using the UN schools as shelter," the statement said.

Ban has asked the U.N. Department of Safety and Security and the U.N. Mine Action Service to develop and implement a plan for the safe and secure handling of any weapons discovered on U.N. premises. Mine Action Service personnel will also be immediately deployed to deal with the situation, the statement said.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by G Crosse)

This graphic posted on the Israeli Defense Forces website, dated July 20, 2014, shows an artist's rendition of the Shijaiyah neighborhood in Gaza in an attempt to support Israeli government claims that Hamas is using hospitals, mosques and residences to hide, store and fire rockets. Beyond the boom of Israeli airstrikes and the stream of rockets fired from Gaza, Israel and Hamas are also battling to control the message emanating from this latest Israeli-Palestinian conflagration. Propaganda and psychological warfare are nothing new in battle, but technology and social media have exponentially increased the ability of each side to penetrate their intended audiences. (AP Photo/IDF website)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Beyond the boom of Israeli airstrikes and the stream of rockets fired from Gaza, Israel and Hamas are also battling to control the message emanating from this latest Israeli-Palestinian conflagration.

Using videos, Twitter, text messages, leaflets and phone calls, both sides have attempted to direct the tone of the fighting — for their own public, their opponent's population and for a global audience. Propaganda and psychological warfare are nothing new in battle, but technology and social media have exponentially increased the ability of each side to penetrate their intended audiences.

Each side has sought to tip the moral scale in its favor with an international audience. Israel has tried to make its case that it is defending its citizens from unprovoked attacks but taking steps to avoid killing civilians on the other side. Hamas has appealed to the world by pointing to the high civilian death toll from Israel's onslaught on Gaza.

Israel and Hamas are each addressing the other's populations as well.

Israel has pushed the message to Palestinians in Gaza that the territory's Hamas rulers are to blame for the bloodshed that's being wreaked. In phone calls that the military makes to Gazans to tell them to evacuate their homes before a strike, the recorded script in Arabic also tells them that Hamas is using them as human shields.

Hamas, in turn, has sent text messages directly to Israelis, warning them that the group will continue firing rockets at them until its demands — like the end of the long-stifling blockade of the tiny Gaza Strip — are met.

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"This is a war over public opinion," said Yuval Dror, an expert in digital communications. "It's an inseparable part of battle in the modern age."

Israel says it launched the war on July 8 in response to heavy rocket fire out of Hamas-controlled Gaza. By mid-day Wednesday, at least 657 Palestinians and 31 Israelis were reported to have been killed in the fighting, which escalated last week with the start of a ground offensive. The war over hearts and minds that has accompanied it has been just as dramatic.

Israel's military has been at the forefront of trying to mold the message. Its spokesperson's office has posted more than 40 videos online since the conflict began, an onslaught of footage aimed at portraying its citizens as under threat from Hamas attacks.

The videos range from raw footage taken from a warplane's cockpit, to high-gloss productions with jazzy graphics. The other main theme in them aims to show Israel is trying not to hit civilians but Hamas is putting them in danger. One picture posted on the military's Twitter feed was a schematic drawing purporting to demonstrate how Hamas tunnels are built intentionally underneath Gazan homes.

In the most sensational offering, Israel released video game-like footage of what the military says is an attempt by Hamas militants to swim from Gaza to Israel to infiltrate and carry out attacks. The video, which has garnered more than a million views on YouTube, shows the suspected militants creeping onto the beach, scampering on sand dunes, and then one by one getting picked off by blasts of Israeli fire. The military says four militants were killed in the incident.

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This graphic posted on the Israeli Defense Forces website, dated July 20, 2014, shows an artist' …

The message was that Hamas is not just relying on rudimentary rockets but is actively trying to attack inside Israel.

Hamas quickly countered with its own video, presenting the same message from the other side — apparently trying to intimidate Israelis and show its own population it is striking back against the Israeli pounding of Gaza. Its video, with a suspenseful musical score, shows Hamas navy commandos training. Armed men in full scuba gear are seen weaving through murky green waters, emerging at the water's surface and opening fire.

In other videos, Hamas has sought to boast about its capabilities. Its videos have shown compilations of rockets whizzing toward Israel. Some of its videos are in Hebrew, aiming to intimidate Israelis.

Hamas has sent Israelis personal text messages, warning that they will continue to strike until its conditions for a cease-fire are met, and boasting that "we have forced you to hide in shelters like mice." Hamas warned Israelis on its web site that it would strike Tel Aviv at precisely 9 p.m. in the early days of the fighting. In the end, Tel Avivis fled toward shelters when the sirens went off several minutes past nine and three rockets were intercepted over the city by the Iron Dome missile defense system.

Hamas claims its media campaign has helped unify Gazans behind it and stoke protests against Israel in cities around the world. "We were able to confront their media machine and to win the battle in most cases," said Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas spokesman.

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FILE - In this Thursday, July 17, 2014, file photo, an Indian Muslim woman holds a placard during a …

But there are limits to the effect of media campaigns. There's little sign that Israel's efforts to turn Gazans against Hamas have had any success, with Palestinians unsurprisingly blaming Israel for the shelling demolishing homes, sometimes killing entire families, in pursuit of a Hamas militant target.

Israelis, meanwhile, hardly seem intimidated by Hamas into pushing for an end to the Israeli campaign against the group. Hamas messages in Hebrew have become the butt of Israeli jokes on line, with one Israeli offering grammar tips for a Hebrew tweet on the feed of Hamas' military wing.

And despite attempts to sway world opinion, Israelis know that continuing images of dead civilians will undermine support.

"Public opinion has a certain patience limit," said Avital Leibovich, a former Israeli military spokeswoman. "There is a certain point where legitimacy begins to be undermined by difficult images."

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FILE - In this Monday, July 21, 2014, file photo, Japanese protesters hold candles during a demonstr …

Associated Press writer Ibrahim Barzak contributed to this report from Gaza City, Gaza Strip.

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Online:

www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_p6t58YPmI

Israel, Hamas in 'war over public opinion'

Both sides try to sway local and global audiences by using social media and other modern means.
IDF posts 40 videos online

PHOENIX (AP) — A condemned Arizona inmate gasped for more than an hour and a half during his execution Wednesday before he died in an episode sure to add to the scrutiny surrounding the death penalty in the U.S.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne's office said Joseph Rudolph Wood was pronounced dead at 3:49 p.m., one hour and 57 minutes after the execution started.

Wood's lawyers had filed emergency appeals with federal and state courts while the execution was underway, demanding that it be stopped. The appeal said Wood was "gasping and snorting for more than an hour."

Gov. Jan Brewer said later that she's ordering a full review of the state's execution process, saying she's concerned by how long it took for the administered drug protocol to kill Wood.

An Associated Press reporter who witnessed the execution saw Wood start gasping shortly after a sedative and a pain killer were injected into his veins. He gasped more than 600 times over the next hour and 40 minutes.

An administrator checked on Wood a half dozen times. His breathing slowed as a deacon said a prayer while holding a rosary. The 55-year-old finally stopped breathing and was pronounced dead 12 minutes later.

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FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections shows inmate Joseph …

"Throughout this execution, I conferred and collaborated with our IV team members and was assured unequivocally that the inmate was comatose and never in pain or distress," said state Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan.

Defense lawyer Dale Baich called it a botched execution that should have taken 10 minutes.

"Arizona appears to have joined several other states who have been responsible for an entirely preventable horror — a bungled execution," Baich said. "The public should hold its officials responsible and demand to make this process more transparent."

Family members of Wood's victims said they had no problems with the way the execution was carried out.

"This man conducted a horrifying murder and you guys are going, 'let's worry about the drugs,'" said Richard Brown, the brother-in-law of Debbie Dietz, who was 29 when she was killed in 1989. "Why didn't they give him a bullet? Why didn't we give him Drano?"

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Robert Hungerford, of Phoenix, prays as he and a group of about a dozen death penalty opponents prot …

Wood was convicted of fatally shooting Dietz and her father, 55-year-old Gene Dietz, at their auto repair shop in Tucson.

Wood looked at the family members as he delivered his final words, saying he was thankful for Jesus Christ as his savior. At one point, he smiled at them, which angered the family.

"I take comfort knowing today my pain stops, and I said a prayer that on this or any other day you may find peace in all of your hearts and may God forgive you all," Wood said.

The case has highlighted scrutiny surrounding lethal injections after two controversial ones. An Ohio inmate executed in January snorted and gasped during the 26 minutes it took him to die. In Oklahoma, an inmate died of a heart attack in April, minutes after prison officials halted his execution because the drugs weren't being administered properly.

Arizona uses the same drugs — the sedative midazolam and painkiller hydromorphone — that were used in the Ohio execution. A different drug combination was used in the Oklahoma case.

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John Zemblidge, right, of Phoenix, leads a group of about a dozen death penalty opponents in prayer …

"States have been scrambling over the past many months to find new sources of drugs. They have been experimenting," said Megan McCracken, of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law's Death Penalty Clinic. "These procedures are unreliable and the consequences are horrific."

States have refused to reveal details such as which pharmacies are supplying lethal injection drugs and who is administering them, because of concerns over harassment.

Woods filed several appeals that were denied by the U.S. Supreme Court, including one that said his First Amendment rights were violated when the state refused to reveal such details.

Wood argued he and the public have a right to know details about the state's method for lethal injections, the qualifications of the executioner and who makes the drugs. Such demands for greater transparency have become a new legal tactic in death penalty cases.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had put the execution on hold, saying the state must reveal the information. But the Supreme Court has not been receptive to the tactic, ruling against death penalty lawyers on the argument each time it has been before justices.

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A fence surrounds the state prison in Florence, Ariz. where the execution of Joseph Rudolph Wood was …

Deborah Denno, professor of criminal law and criminal procedure at Fordham Law School, said it may be up to Legislatures or the public to bring any change.

"I think every time one of these botches happens, it leads to questioning the death penalty even more," she said. "It will reach a point where the public will question the value of these execution procedures generally, and perhaps the death penalty itself."

The governor said medical and eyewitness accounts indicated that Wood did not suffer and he died in a lawful manner in which justice was served.

Attorney general's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, who witnessed the execution, said Wood "went to sleep, and looked to be snoring."

"This was my first execution, and I was surprised by how peaceful it was," Grisham said in an email. "There was absolutely no snorting or gasping for air."

Wood's execution was Arizona's third since October and the state's 36th since 1992.

Wood and Debbie Dietz had a tumultuous relationship during which he repeatedly assaulted her. She tried to end their relationship and got an order of protection against Wood.

On the day of the shooting, Wood went to the auto shop and waited for Gene Dietz, who disapproved of his daughter's relationship with Wood, to get off the phone. Once the father hung up, Wood pulled out a revolver, shot him in the chest and then smiled.

Wood then turned his attention toward Debbie Dietz, who was trying to telephone for help. Wood grabbed her by the neck and put his gun to her chest. She pleaded with him to spare her life. An employee heard Wood say, "I told you I was going to do it. I have to kill you." He then called her an expletive and fired two shots in her chest.

Since the start of the year, executions in Ohio, Oklahoma and Arizona have gone awry, with inmates gasping for breath as lethal drugs coursed through their bodies. The Associated Press had witnesses at the executions of the three inmates. A look at how each unfolded:

THE BACKSTORY:

ARIZONA: Joseph Rudolph Wood was convicted of fatally shooting Debbie Dietz, 29, and her father, Gene Dietz, 55, at their auto repair shop in Tucson in 1989. He was executed on Wednesday.

OKLAHOMA: Clayton Lockett was convicted of shooting Stephanie Nieman, 19, with a sawed-off shotgun and watching as two accomplices buried her alive in 1999. He was executed on April 29.

OHIO: Dennis McGuire was sentenced to die for raping and stabbing to death Joy Stewart, a pregnant newlywed, in 1989. He was executed on Jan. 16.

BENIGN BEGINNINGS

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A fence surrounds the state prison in Florence, Ariz. where the execution of Joseph Rudolph Wood was …

ARIZONA: Wood looked around the death chamber and glanced at the doctors as they made preparations for his execution Wednesday in Florence, Arizona. They located veins and inserted two lines into his arms.

OKLAHOMA: Lockett's execution was slightly delayed. Also, while the procedure typically calls for one IV to be inserted into each arm, the medical team had difficulty finding a suitable vein and instead opted for a single IV into Lockett's groin that was covered with a sheet.

OHIO: McGuire, strapped to the gurney as members of the execution medical team inserted intravenous needles into his arms, spoke several times. The prisons spokeswoman said he repeatedly thanked the leader of the execution team.

LAST WORDS

ARIZONA: Wood looked at the family members as he delivered his final words, saying he was thankful for Jesus Christ as his savior. At one point, he smiled at them, which angered the family. "I take comfort knowing today my pain stops, and I said a prayer that on this or any other day you may find peace in all of your hearts and may God forgive you all," Wood said.

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FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections shows inmate Joseph …

OKLAHOMA: When asked if he had any final words, Lockett simply responded: "No."

OHIO: McGuire then thanked Stewart's family members, who witnessed the execution, for their "kind words" in a letter he apparently received from them. "I'm going to heaven. I'll see you there when you come," he said.

FIRST TROUBLE:

ARIZONA: About 10 minutes after the drugs were injected, the gasping began. Wood's jaw dropped, his chest expanded, and he let out a gasp. The gasps repeated every five to 12 seconds. They went on and on, hundreds of times. An administrator checked on him a half-dozen times. He could be heard snoring loudly when an administrator turned on a microphone to inform the gallery that Wood was still sedated, despite the audible sounds.

OKLAHOMA: After Lockett received the first drug, midazolam, and was determined to be unconscious, the second and third drugs were administered. A few minutes later, Lockett began writhing on the gurney, mumbling, breathing heavily and straining to lift his head from a pillow.

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FILE - In this Tuesday, April 15, 2008 file photo, Terry Crenshaw, warden's assistant at the Okl …

OHIO: McGuire appeared unconscious but gasped repeatedly as he lay on a gurney, his stomach rising and falling and his mouth opening and shutting. McGuire's execution lasted 26 minutes, the longest of any in Ohio to date. What was particularly unusual was the five minutes or so that McGuire lay motionless on the gurney after the drugs began flowing, followed by a sudden snort and then more than 10 minutes of irregular breathing and gasping. Normally, movement comes at the beginning and is followed by inactivity. It remains unclear what McGuire experienced, although it was clearly much different than any other execution where the needles were inserted properly.

REACTION:

ARIZONA: As the episode dragged on, Wood's lawyers frantically drew up an emergency legal appeal, asking federal and state courts to step in and stop the execution.

OKLAHOMA: As Lockett continued to struggle on the gurney, the prison warden ordered the blinds lowered that allowed witnesses to see inside the death chamber. After learning there was a problem with the IV and that some of the drugs had leaked into Lockett's tissue or out of his body, the state's prison director called a stop to the execution.

OHIO: McGuire's daughter, Amber McGuire, watched his final moments. "Oh, my God," she said as he gasped and breathed irregularly.

RESOLUTION:

ARIZONA: Wood's gasps lasted about an hour and a half. His breathing slowed and he took his final breath. Soon after, Arizona Department of Corrections Director Charles L. Ryan declared Wood dead.

OKLAHOMA: Lockett was pronounced dead of an apparent heart attack 43 minutes after his execution began. The results of a state autopsy are pending, and an official cause of death has not been released. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has ordered an independent investigation into Lockett's execution, and the results of that probe have not been released.

OHIO: McGuire was pronounced dead nearly 25 minutes after the lethal drugs began flowing.

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Associated Press reporters Astrid Galvan in Florence, Arizona, and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.