53 Killed İn Mosque Attack İn Nigeria's Kano: Source

At least 53 people were killed and dozens injured after multiple bomb explosions and shootings rocked a prominent mosque in Nigeria's northwestern Kano State.



The Murtala Specialist Hospital has received "about 53 dead bodies and well over 100 injured, some of whom have been referred to teaching hospitals because of burns they suffered," a hospital source told The Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.



The source added that most victims were "young children and beggars who usually stand outside the mosque."



Another medic at the hospital said: "Casualties will likely be higher than 53, since some victims were taken to other hospitals. Even many of the people here are not in stable condition; anything could happen."



The Murtala Specialist Hospital is located only a stone's throw from the scene of the attack.



Earlier in the day, Abdullateef Abubakar Jos, a broadcast journalist in Kano, told AA that several people were feared dead after massive bomb explosions and shooting took place in and around Kano's main mosque, which is frequented by traditional Kano ruler Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.



No official death toll has yet been given.



One AA correspondent has learned that Sanusi is currently out of the country.



He often presides over Friday prayers as a Muslim leader, second in rank only to the Sultan of Sokoto, who represents the Nigerian Muslim community's supreme leader.



By Rafiu Ajakaye



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Lagos