18 Killed As Car Bomb Goes Off In Kaduna

A car bomb has killed at least 18 people in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna, officials say. Reports said the blast, which caused extensive damage, happened on a main road, close to restaurants, a hotel and at least one church. The area has been the scene of a religious conflict in recent years that has claimed the lives of hundreds of people. There had been warnings of attacks in the region over Easter. Many of the dead are thought to be motorcycle taxi drivers and beggars. Witnesses say debris was thrown dozens of metres from the centre of the blast. No one has yet admitted carrying out the bombing, but the BBC’s correspondent in Nigeria, Mark Lobel, says the radical Islamist group Boko Haram recently said it would carry out attacks in the area over the Easter holiday.