Boko Haram claims suicide attack on Shiite Muslims
Kano - Boko Haram on Saturday claimed responsibility for a
suicide bombing on a Shiite Muslim procession near Kano that
killed 22 people.
The group said in a statement in Arabic on social media its
bomber "detonated his explosives which led to the death" of
the victims on Friday.
"And by the permission of Allah these attacks of ours against
Shi'a polytheists will continue until we cleanse the earth of
their filth," it warned.
At least 21 people were initially reported killed but the toll rose
after one more person was confirmed dead.
"For now, we have 22 deaths following the death of one more
person yesterday. Thirty-eight people have also been injured,
two of whom have been discharged from the hospital," one of
the organisers of the march Ali Kakaki told AFP Saturday.
He said that, despite the attack on Friday, the Islamic
Movement of Nigeria members had continued their march
from Kano to Zaria in neighbouring Kaduna state, where their
leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky is based.
The march is to mark Ashura, which commemorates the death
of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
Also Read: Suicide bomber hits Shiite Muslim procession
"Following the attack, many more of our members have joined
the procession," Kakaki said, adding that they aimed to arrive
at their destination next week.
Friday's attack took place in the village of Dakasoye, some 20
kilometres (13 miles) south of the city of Kano.
One of the procession's organisers said a bomber clad in black
ran into the crowd and detonated his explosives.
Boko Haram, the radical Sunni jihadists, has previously been
blamed for attacks on Shia Muslims in the region.
Boko Haram, whose six-year insurgency has left at least 17
000 people dead and made more than 2.6 million homeless,
condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.
The group has increasingly used suicide bombers against
"soft" civilian targets since the start of a military offensive
earlier this year that pushed them out of territory they
controlled.
President Muhammadu Buhari has given his military
commanders until next month to end the conflict but there are
fears that suicide and bomb attacks may persist.
- AFP
suicide bombing on a Shiite Muslim procession near Kano that
killed 22 people.
The group said in a statement in Arabic on social media its
bomber "detonated his explosives which led to the death" of
the victims on Friday.
"And by the permission of Allah these attacks of ours against
Shi'a polytheists will continue until we cleanse the earth of
their filth," it warned.
At least 21 people were initially reported killed but the toll rose
after one more person was confirmed dead.
"For now, we have 22 deaths following the death of one more
person yesterday. Thirty-eight people have also been injured,
two of whom have been discharged from the hospital," one of
the organisers of the march Ali Kakaki told AFP Saturday.
He said that, despite the attack on Friday, the Islamic
Movement of Nigeria members had continued their march
from Kano to Zaria in neighbouring Kaduna state, where their
leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky is based.
The march is to mark Ashura, which commemorates the death
of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
Also Read: Suicide bomber hits Shiite Muslim procession
"Following the attack, many more of our members have joined
the procession," Kakaki said, adding that they aimed to arrive
at their destination next week.
Friday's attack took place in the village of Dakasoye, some 20
kilometres (13 miles) south of the city of Kano.
One of the procession's organisers said a bomber clad in black
ran into the crowd and detonated his explosives.
Boko Haram, the radical Sunni jihadists, has previously been
blamed for attacks on Shia Muslims in the region.
Boko Haram, whose six-year insurgency has left at least 17
000 people dead and made more than 2.6 million homeless,
condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.
The group has increasingly used suicide bombers against
"soft" civilian targets since the start of a military offensive
earlier this year that pushed them out of territory they
controlled.
President Muhammadu Buhari has given his military
commanders until next month to end the conflict but there are
fears that suicide and bomb attacks may persist.
- AFP
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