Two explosions, believed to be from improvised explosive devices and ignited by two suspected female suicide bombers, have gone off in the ancient city of Kano, killings scores and injuring others, a police source told our correspondent.
“Explosions have gone off at Kano GSM market around farm centre,” one Mohammed Ahmad said. “I’m rushing to the scene.”
Details of the incident are still sketchy, as at now, but I can confirm to you that the attacks were carried out by two female suicide bombers,” said a top Police source in the city.
“Many people are however feared dead, and several others injured,” he said.
A witness said the first explosion occurred at the market entrance while the second device exploded near a pavilion in the centre of the market.
He said two vans filled with victims were driven away from the scenes of the explosions.
Police said a teenage suicide bomber is believed to be behind one of the explosions.
He reported seeing a detached human leg, believed to belong to the suicide bomber, near the gate of the market, which was filled to capacity at the time of the incident.
Another witness told our reporter that he was part of those that prevented the teenage girl from entering the market, forcing her to detonate her device at the gate.
Traders were seen carrying corpses and injured people to hospitals in cars owned by good Samaritans.
Meanwhile, the Kano state police commissioner, Muhammadu Katsina, confirmed the incident.
He told journalists the two explosive devices were detonated by two female suicide bombers.
Katsina said only three people died in the incident. But our reporter said he saw a far higher number of victims taken away from the scene.
The incident came less than 24 hours after a similar explosion in a crowded park in Yola, the Adamawa state capital, left at least 34 people dead and 80 injured.
Today’s blast is the first attack on Kano since July 6 when a female suicide bomber struck near a Mosque in the city, killing herself.
The teenage bomber had detonated the explosive at 9:30 p.m that day after she was prevented from accessing the Umar Bin Khatab mosque along Zaria Road. The incident happened just as faithful were dispersing after observing the late night (Tarawih) prayer.
Meantime, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja called for increased vigilance among the civilian population to help ward off suicide terror attacks on soft targets around the country.
The President condemned in strongest terms the barbaric suicide terrorist attacks which took place in Yola on the evening of Tuesday, November 17 and in Kano Wednesday, causing numerous deaths and injuries among civilians.
The President extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims as well as to the Government and people of Adamawa and Kano States respectively.
He reassured Nigerians that his administration “is very much determined to wipe out Boko Haram in Nigeria and bring all perpetrators of these heinous crime against humanity to justice”.
