Dozens have been killed in a gun and bomb attack during
Friday prayers at one of the biggest mosques in the Nigerian city of Kano,
reports say.
Many more people have been hurt, with one rescue official
putting casualty figures at just under 200.
The Central Mosque is where the influential Muslim leader,
the Emir of Kano, usually leads prayers.
The emir recently called for people to arm themselves
against Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
The group has been waging an insurgency in Nigeria since
2009 and has killed more than 2,000 people this year, rights groups say.
The rescue official, speaking to Agence France-Presse, put the casualty toll at 64 dead and 126 hurt, although this has not been independently confirmed.
Three explosions were reported in and around the mosque. The
attackers also turned gunfire on worshippers.
One eyewitness told the BBC's Focus on Africa: "The
imam was about to start prayer when he saw somebody in a car trying to force
himself into the mosque. But when people stopped him, he detonated the
explosions. People started running helter-skelter."
BBC Hausa editor Mansur Liman said one witness at a local
hospital had described the scenes there as being the most horrible he had ever
seen
