Several wounded as Emir escapes suicide attack

KANO  (AFP) – A Muslim religious leader in Potiskum  and Emir of Fika escaped a suicide attack on Friday, when the bomber was thwarted by local people before blowing himself up, residents said.

Several people were wounded in the blast in the town of Potiskum, one witness said, as a police official said he was awaiting further details of the attack.

“A man who looked in his 40s … approached the emir and tried to embrace him, but people around pushed him away, and at that moment, a bomb concealed under his caftan went off,” one witness said.

Those wounded included the emir’s bodyguard, a mosque aid worker and a nurse, the witness said. The attack was said to have occurred as worshippers left the mosque following Friday prayers.

There was no immediate claim for the attack, though Potiskum has been hard hit by violence blamed on radical Islamist group Boko Haram.

More details soon