KADUNA: A car bombing near 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.

The explosion, a stark reminder of Christmas Day attacks that left dozens of people dead in Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer, hit the city of Kaduna, a major cultural and economic centre in the north.

Motorcycle taxi drivers and passers by appeared to have borne the brunt of the blast, and body parts littered the area.

As news of the attack spread, security forces boosted patrols in key areas, including in the capital Abuja, where soldiers were sent to reinforce police posted near churches, an AFP correspondent reported. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Details were still emerging of the attack, but at least one car said to be driven by a suicide bomber was believed involved. 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 another church, the Evangelical Church of West Africa, and turned back.

He then drove to a nearby area in front of a hotel, close to the Assemblies of God church, and detonated the bomb. The church did not appear to have any significant damage. Other cars in the area were damaged, but it was unclear if they were also carrying explosives, he said.

“We have a bomb explosion. We are trying to sort things out,” police spokesman Aminu Lawal told AFP. A spokesman for the national emergency management agency said most of the victims appeared to be motorcyle taxi drivers.

Islamist group Boko Haram carried out a series of attacks on churches and other locations on Christmas day, the bloodiest at a church outside Abuja, where 44 people died. The Nigerian authorities as well as foreign embassies had warned of the possibility of an attack on Easter Sunday.

Boko Haram's increasingly bloody insurgency has left more than 1,000 people dead since mid-2009. Police and soldiers have often been the victims of such attacks, though Christians have been targeted as well.