An estimated 64 people died
in the multiple explosions in Kano Grand Mosque today, according to preliminary
casualty figures released by an official of one of the rescue agencies.
About 128 people were also said to have been injured in the
bombings believed to have been the handiwork of the Boko Haram.
The official, who requested anonymity as he was not authorised
to speak to media, said 64 bodies had been brought to just one Kano area
hospital after the attack at the city’s central mosque, and the wounded figure
reflected statistics from three hospitals.
The bombs exploded in the mosque attached to the palace of the
Emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi, a week after he issued a call to arms to fight
Boko Haram.
The explosions came after civilian vigilantes in the
northeastern city of Maiduguri said they foiled a bomb attack against a mosque,
five days after two female suicide bombers killed over 45 people in the city.
“Two bombs exploded, one after the other, in the premises of the
Grand Mosque seconds after the prayers had started,” worshipper Aminu Abdullahi
told AFP.
“A third one went off in a nearby road close to the Qadiriyya
Sufi order. The blasts were followed by gunshots by the police to scare off
potential attacks.”
His account was backed up by another witness, Hajara Tukur, who
said she lives nearby.
The emir, known officially as Muhammad Sanusi II, last week said
at the same mosque that northerners should take up arms against Boko Haram,
which has been fighting for a hardline Islamic state since 2009.
He also cast doubt on Nigerian troops’ ability to protect
civilians and end the insurgency, in rare public comments by a cleric on
political and military affairs.
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