EASTER DAY BOMBING: AT LEAST 20 DEAD IN BOMB ATTACK NEAR KADUNA CHURCH

KADUNA (AFP) - A car bomb attack outside a church in Kaduna on Easter Sunday left at least 20 dead and scores wounded, a rescue source said.

The explosion, a stark reminder of Christmas Day attacks that left dozens dead in the country, occurred where motorcycle taxi drivers and passersby caught much

of the blast.

Residents pull burnt motorcycles off the street in the cty of Kaduna Sunday after a car explosion killed at least 20 people .AFP PHOTO

At least one car said to be driven by a suicide bomber was involved in the attack, though a rescue official speaking on condition of anonymity said two vehicles packed with explosives detonated.

“Now we have 20 dead from the twin explosions,” the rescue official, who was not authorised to speak publicly, told AFP. Officials were still counting the number of wounded, he added.

“Bombs concealed in two cars went off just opposite this church,” he said.

A police officer at the scene said a man believed to be a suicide bomber driving a car was stopped at a checkpoint near the church and turned back, but drove to a nearby area close to a hotel and detonated the bomb.

Other cars in the area were damaged, but it was unclear if they were also carrying explosives, he said.

A spokesman for the national emergency management agency said most of the victims appeared to be motorcyle taxi drivers who were in the area at the time.

Police confirmed the explosion was a bomb, but did not officially comment further.

“We have a bomb explosion. We are trying to sort things out,” police spokesman Aminu Lawal told AFP.

Residents reported seeing dead and injured being taken away. An AFP correspondent said he saw 10 bodies, while one resident said he counted at least 10 wounded.

Another resident said that “from my balcony, I could see policemen loading the dead and the injured into waiting vans.”

People evacuate a victim after an explosion in Kaduna on April 8, 2012. A car bomb blast outside a church in northern Nigeria on Easter Sunday killed at least 20 people and put the country on alert over fears of further attacks, rescue officials and residents said.. Motorcycle taxi drivers and passers-by caught much of the blast. AFP PHOTO

One resident said the explosion was strong enough to shake his house and cause his ceiling to cave in. He ran to the site, which had already been cordoned off, but he said he could see damage to the Assemblies of God Church and cars.

Authorities as well as foreign embassies had warned of the possibility of an attack on Easter Sunday.