Emir of Kano's palace attacked by 2 suicide bombers, gunmen...64 dead

Police have said that the attack at the Grand Mosque in Kano during Friday prayers this afternoon was carried out by two suicide bombers and gunmen who opened fire on people trying to flee to safety.

Force PRO, Emmanuel Ojukwu told AFP that after the assailants blew themselves up in succession at the mosque, gunmen, not fewer than 15, opened fire on those who were trying to escape”

According to him, a mob killed four of the attackers while the rest escaped.

At least 64 people were killed and 126 injured when the two bombs exploded during prayers at a mosque attached to the palace of the Emir of Kano Muhammad Sanusi II (Sanusi Lamido Sanusi).

The attack comes a week after he issued a call to arms against Boko Haram.

An attempt had earlier been made in the morning at a mosque in Maiduguri, Borno State.

According to an AFP report,

In Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, civilian vigilantes said they had discovered a suspected remote-controlled device planted in the Gamboru Market area of the city.

It was successfully defused by the police bomb squad but as the bomb was being made safe, another device exploded nearby. There were no casualties, as the area had been cordoned off.

“Our assumption is that the bombs were planted ahead of Friday prayers in the mosque just nearby,” civilian vigilante Babakura Adam said.

“Of course, it’s Boko Haram’s handiwork because in the last few days several arrests have been made of suspected female suicide bombers.”

Adam said the arrests were made on Wednesday and Thursday.

Fears have grown in Maiduguri about an upsurge in Boko Haram attacks, after the militant Islamists took over more than two dozen towns in Borno and two neighbouring states in recent months.