Toll in Nigeria mosque attack touches 120

The triple bomb blasts at a mosque located within the Emir's Palace in the northern Nigerian city of Kano have killed as many as 120 people, according to media reports Saturday.

The blasts, which were the handiwork of the militant Boko Haram sect, happened midway into the weekly Friday prayers, The Nation online reported.

About 128 other worshippers are also believed to have been injured in the blasts.

The chief imam of Kano, Sani Zaharadeen, was in the process of delivering his sermon at about 2.15 p.m. when the bombs began to go off one after the other, according to the report.

Two of the bombs were planted inside the mosque and the third outside.

"Three bombs were planted in the courtyard of the mosque and they went off simultaneously," a security source said on the condition of anonymity.

A staff member at the palace who also witnessed the attack said: "After multiple explosions, they also opened fire. I cannot tell you the casualty figure because we all ran away."

The explosions sparked a stampede by terrified worshippers.

Angry youths blocked the mosque's gates and police had to disperse them with tear gas to gain entry.

A similar bomb attack was averted at the Customs Market in Gamboru, Maiduguri, in Nigeria's Borno state after vigilante youths alerted the police about two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted at the market.

The Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) has deplored the attack which came after the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, had called on the Muslim faithful to defend the city against the militant group Boko Haram.

Boko Haram's terror campaign across northern Nigeria is known to have claimed more than 3,000 lives this year.

The Boko Haram insurgency has displaced over one million people during its campaign, the Red Cross said, an increase on a September UN refugee agency estimate of 700,000.