KADUNA, Nigeria, (Reuters) – A car bomb killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens more in the northern Nigerian town of Kaduna on Easter Sunday, after security officers stopped the vehicle carrying it from approaching a church, witnesses and police said.
There was also an explosion around 200 km (125 miles) southeast in the central town of Jos on Sunday evening, the national emergency management agency said. A military spokesman said it was a “minor explosion” and nobody was killed.
No group claimed responsibility for the Kaduna attack, but the apparent targeting of a Christian place of worship will stir memories of a string of deadly assaults by Islamist militants Boko Haram on Christmas Day last year.
A spokesman for the Kaduna state emergency management agency said 16 people had so far been confirmed dead, while 35 more were critically injured and receiving treatment in hospitals.