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Multiple blasts hit Nigerian mosque

November 28, 2014

A number of bombs have exploded at the central mosque of Nigeria's second-largest city, Kano. Many people are feared dead or wounded.

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Nigeria Kano Anschlag
Image: AMINU ABUBAKAR/AFP/Getty Images

The blasts occurred on Friday afternoon at a mosque adjacent to the palace of the emir of Kano, the second-highest Islamic authority in Nigeria, targeting worshippers gathered for weekly prayers.

Gunshots were also heard after the blasts. There has been no word on casualties, although hundreds of people were believed to have been inside the mosque at the time.

"After multiple explosions, they also opened fire. I cannot tell you the level of casualties because we all ran away," a staff member at the palace told news agency Reuters.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, although blame is likely to fall to Boko Haram. The Islamist group has waged a campaign for five years to create a Islamic caliphate governed by Sharia law. Thousands of people have been killed in multiple attacks during that time.

"These people have bombed the mosque. I am face to face with people screaming," local reporter Chijjani Usman told Reuters.

Witnesses reported heavy smoke coming from the complex. Police have cordoned off the area around the mosque.

jr/sb (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)