A coordinated suicide bombing and gun attack on Kano's Central Mosque killed around 120 people, marking one of the deadliest Boko Haram strikes in northern Nigeria.
Key Facts
- Date
- November 28, 2014
- Target
- Central Mosque (Grand Mosque), Kano
- Killed
- ~120 people
- Injured
- ~260 people
- Attack method
- Two suicide bombers and gunmen
- Perpetrator
- Boko Haram
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, the Central Mosque in Kano was targeted, likely because it stood adjacent to the palace of Emir Muhammad Sanusi II, a senior Muslim cleric who had publicly called on civilians to arm themselves against Boko Haram, making both the mosque and the emir symbolic targets for the group.
On November 28, 2014, two suicide bombers detonated explosives inside the Grand Mosque in Kano during what was one of the largest gatherings at the city's most prominent Islamic site. Gunmen then opened fire on worshippers attempting to flee, compounding the casualties in a coordinated attack designed to maximize deaths.
Approximately 120 people were killed and around 260 others were injured, making it one of the deadliest single attacks attributed to Boko Haram in northern Nigeria. The assault intensified international concern about the insurgency's reach into major urban centers and its willingness to strike Muslim religious sites and communities.