Various news agencies have reported different estimates – from 80 to more than 120– of people killed in two suicide bombings and open fire on a Muslim congregation Friday, Nov. 28, in a central Mosque in northern Nigeria’s city of Kano.
Reuters and BBC said at least 81 were killed while CNN reported at least 120 fatalities. Those injured were estimated at 270.
CNN, quoting a source, an unnamed official, said the death toll could still rise as some of the wounded were in critical condition.
Reuters, on the other hand, gave a more conservative estimate of more than a hundred for those injured.
The President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, was quoted by BBC as having said “to leave no stone unturned” in the investigation he had ordered of the incident.
CNN said the attacks came two weeks after the emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, called for self-defense and even urged the people to fight the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram.
“The emir made the call at the same mosque where Friday’s attack occurred. Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, Boko Haram is the main suspect. Many believe the attacks were reprisals for the emir’s call to arms against the terror group,” a CNN report said.
Boko Haram, a Sunni Islamist group, has been waging an insurgency in Nigeria since 2009. It has killed more than 2,000 people this year, according to a human rights group.
Reuters said three bombs exploded and gunmen opened fire on the Muslim faithful gathered for prayers at the main Mosque in north Nigeria’s biggest city Kano on Friday.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for this latest wave of violence in Nigeria.
(Eagle News Service)
