A bomb blast at Northern Nigeria’s largest mosque has claimed the lives of almost 200 people, the Nigerian press reports. The Islamist militant group Boko Haram is blamed for the blast during Friday prayers at the Kano Central mosque, which came days after the Emir of Kano – the region’s Muslim spiritual leader – urged Muslims to repudiate the terror group. Witnesses reported three bombs went off in rapid succession on 28 Nov 2014. The explosions prompted a stampede by survivors, with a number of the dead crushed to death by the crowd seeking to escape. The Muslim terror group has intensified its campaign of violence against Christians and Muslims unwilling to accept its rule. On 25 November two female suicide bombers detonated bombs in the Maiduguri central market killing 45. In the early hours of 1 December 2014, Boko Haram soldiers assaulted the police state in Damaturi before heading into the center of the town. An unnamed security official told This Day the casualties, not yet counted, were “massive.” The Nigerian press also reported attacks on Christian villages in the Borno State over weekend. Boko Haram destroyed several houses and set fire to an Anglican church after killing six people.