2014 Kano attack

The 2014 Kano bombing was a terrorist attack on November 28, 2014 at the Central Mosque (Grand Mosque) in Kano, the biggest city in the mainly Muslim Northern Nigeria during the Islamist insurgency in Nigeria. The mosque is next to the palace of the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, Nigeria's second most senior Muslim cleric, who had urged the civilians to protect themselves by arming up against Boko Haram. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up and gunmen opened fire on those who were trying to escape. Around 120 people were killed and another 260 injured.[1][2][3][4]

2014 Kano bombing
Part of Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
Location of Kano State in Nigeria
LocationKano, Kano State, Nigeria
Coordinates11°59′40.62″N 8°31′0.92″E
DateNovember 28, 2014
14:00 WAT
TargetMosque
Deaths120
Injured260
PerpetratorBoko Haram

Background

On 25 November, two female suicide bombers killed over 45 people in a crowded market in Maiduguri, Borno State.[5] On 27 November, around 50 people were killed in Damasak by the Boko Haram militants.[6] A bomb attack was also foiled near a mosque in Maiduguri hours before the Kano bombings. A roadside bomb, suspected to be remote-controlled, was defused.

Bombings

The attack occurred on 28 November 2014 when the Friday prayers were under way. Three bombs detonated when the prayers had just started. According to an eyewitness, two blasts were in the courtyard, while the third was on a nearby road.[7] Another eyewitness said, "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."[8] Following the explosions, gunmen opened fire at people. According to national police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu, the angry mob killed four gunmen after the shootings.[9][10]

Aftermath

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the attacks and ordered the national security services "to launch a full-scale investigation and to leave no stone unturned until all agents of terror undermining the right of every citizen to life and dignity are tracked down and brought to justice".[8] In December 2014, the leader of the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, accused the emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, of deviating from Islam and threatened to kill him.[11][12]

According to reports, upon a request for help from Nigeria, Britain was considering sending military trainers to Nigeria to aid the Nigerian military in resisting the Boko Haram terrorist attacks.[13]

See also

References
  1. AFP. "Suicide bombers, gunmen kill 64 at prominent Nigeria mosque". Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  2. "BBC News - Nigeria unrest: Kano mosque attack kills dozens". BBC News. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  3. Al Jazeera and agencies. "Scores killed in Nigeria mosque blasts". Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  4. "Bombs, gunfire kill 81 at crowded mosque in Nigeria's Kano". Reuters. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  5. "Northeast Nigeria bus station blast kills 40 people: sources". Reuters. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  6. "Nigeria's face of terror: Boko Haram spreading fear, blood". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  7. "Triple bomb blasts kill 120 outside Nigeria mosque". The Telegraph UK. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  8. "Nigeria unrest: President Jonathan condemns mosque attack". BBC. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  9. "Nigeria attack: Over 100 reportedly dead as bombs, gunmen target crowded mosque in city of Kano". abc.net.au. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  10. Scores killed in mosque attack in Nigerian city of Kano, FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS, 29 November 2014. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014.
  11. National Post: "Boko Haram kidnaps 191, murders dozens as the group threatens Muslim leader for telling Nigerians to fight back" by Mustapha Muhammad December 18, 2014
  12. Daily Post: "Kano blast: 150 worshipers killed in ‘Sanusi’s Mosque’ after he travelled to Saudi Arabia" by Ameh Comrade Godwin November 29, 2014
  13. "Britain plans more army trainers to help Nigeria fight Boko Haram". The Telegraph UK. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
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