KADUNA, Nigeria, April 8 (UPI) -- A car bomb exploded near a church in Kaduna, Nigeria, during Easter Sunday services, killing at least 38 people, witnesses and officials said.
The Daily Times of Nigeria reported in addition to those killed, about a dozen others were injured.
Shehu Sani, president of Civil Rights Congress in Kaduna, said explosives were detonated near an Assemblies of God Church near the center of the southern Nigeria city, the Press Trust of India reported.
"There were two explosions and the casualty figure may go up because some injuries were critical," Sani told PTI by phone.
An emergency worker, speaking on condition of anonymity, told also the Indian news service bombs were planted in two cars near the church.
No one had claimed responsibility for the attack but PTI noted the BBC reported the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram had said recently it intended to carry out attacks in the area during Easter weekend.
The Daily Times said several buildings near the church were damaged.
Last week, the British and U.S. embassies posted warnings to their citizens in Nigeria violence was likely to occur in the south, where Muslim and Christian sects have been attacking one another's mosques and churches.
Last Christmas, five Christian churches were bombed and 27 people were killed.
