81 killed in attack on mosque in Nigeria

Abuja: At least 81 people were killed and 150 others wounded Friday in a bomb blast at a mosque in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, police said.

Kano police chief Samuel Lemu offered a provisional casualty report hours after the city's central mosque was rocked by three explosions.

The blasts occurred around 2.00 p.m., moments before chief imam Sani Zahradeen was to begin the Friday prayer service. Assailants opened fire on worshippers as they fled the mosque.

Some witnesses told Nigeria's Premium Times that hundreds of people may have been killed.

The emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, one of the most influential figures in Nigeria, is currently visiting Mecca, sources close to the religious leader told Efe.

Sanusi recently called on the Muslim faithfuls to defend Kano against the militant group Boko Haram, whose terror campaign across northern Nigeria has claimed more than 3,000 deaths this year.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack yet.