Kano, Nigeria (CNN) -- Three bombs exploded at a northern Nigerian mosque and gunmen shot at people who fled the building Friday, leaving dozens of people dead, Nigerian state-run broadcaster NTA reported.
Three explosions rocked Central Mosque after people gathered for Friday prayers in Kano, northern Nigeria's largest city, where Islamist militant group Boko Haram (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/09/world/boko-haram-fast-facts/index.html') has a significant presence and has launched deadly attacks previously, NTA and worshipers said.
Gunmen then shot people who tried to leave, NTA reported.
Police on Friday night still were trying to determine exactly how many people died in the attack, NTA reported. No immediate claim of responsibility was made.
Kano is one of the areas where Boko Haram has fought an anti-government campaign to institute Sharia, or Islamic law. Attacks attributed to the group in Kano include a wave of bombings that killed 180 people in one day in 2012 and a suicide bombing that killed six people, including three police officers, at a gas station this month.
Earlier this month, the emir of Kano and the country's former central bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, urged resistance against Islamist militants. Nigerian troops often rely on vigilantes and local hunters to help them fight Boko Haram in that part of the country
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is a sin," still is believed to be holding more than 200 girls it abducted in April from a school in Chibok, Borno state.
Also this month, Boko Haram's leader said the girls had been converted to Islam and married off, and he denied the government's claim that it had reached a ceasefire agreement (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/01/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-denies-deal/index.html') with the group.
Journalist Aminu Abubakar reported from Kano. CNN's Jason Hanna reported and wrote in Atlanta.
Source: CNN