A suicide bomber has killed at least 21 people in an attack on a Shia Muslim procession in Nigeria’s Kano state, eyewitnesses and organisers say.<\/p>\n
The bomber ran into the crowd and detonated his device before he could be spotted, an organiser told AFP.<\/p>\n
The attack happened shortly after a man was arrested in possession of a bomb, a witness told the BBC.<\/p>\n
The blast took place in the village of Dakasoye, about 20km (13 miles) south of the provincial capital, Kano.<\/p>\n
“We lost 21 people and several others have been injured,” Muhammad Turi from the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) said.<\/p>\n
Police said they did not know who was behind the attack, but IMN organisers blamed the Sunni militant group Boko Haram.<\/p>\n
The procession – an annual event lasting seven days – continued after the blast.<\/p>\n
“We are not surprised that we’ve been attacked because this is the situation all over the country. This will not deter us from our religious observance,” said Mr Turi.<\/p>\n
The procession travels from Kano to Zaria in neighbouring Kaduna state, where the IMN, the country’s biggest Shia organisation, has its headquarters.<\/p>\n
Security forces had been ordered away from the procession after clashes between pilgrims and the army left several people dead last year, including three sons of its leader Sheikh el-Zakzaky.<\/p>\n
Most of Nigeria’s Muslims are Sunnis and correspondents say there are underlying tensions between them and Shia Muslims.<\/p>\n
Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency has killed thousands and made more than 2m people homeless. The group condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed.<\/p>\n
The militants have increasingly attacked civilian targets since being pushed out of territory they controlled by a military offensive.<\/p>\n
Follow Us<\/p>\n