Africa News

Several dead in car bombing in northern Nigeria

Apr 8, 2012, 11:32 GMT

Abuja - Several people were killed when a car bomb exploded in the volatile northern Nigerian city of Kaduna on Sunday, police in the West African nation said.

Witnesses said the car laden with explosives was detonated while the city's main churches were holding Easter services.

Spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Yushau Shuaib confirmed that rescue teams were at the scene, but said there was no official death toll yet. Several people were injured and taken to hospital.

Kaduna has been the scene of religious tensions between Muslims and Christians and hundreds of people have died in violence in the city over the past several years.

The latest blast seems to have taken place in the central business area. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Witness Andy Inuwa told dpa that the car was towards a church, when it detonated at a junction. Most of the dead and injured were believed to be motorcycle taxi drivers and beggars.

'Several bodies were mutilated. Most (were) commercial bike riders, passersby and even little children,' said Alice Bako, another witness.

Terrorist attacks during religious holidays have become frequent in Nigeria.

Foreign diplomats and Nigerian security services had warned that Islamist group Boko Haram might try to attack during Easter. The group blew up a church on Christmas, killing dozens.

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