Nigeria - Car Bomb Kills 38 Outside Easter Service

At least 38 people have been killed after a car bombing outside a church in northern Nigeria where an Easter service was under way.

Security officers managed to stop the vehicle carrying the explosives from getting closer to the church in Kaduna, witnesses and emergency services said.

At least one car said to be driven by a suicide bomber was believed to be involved in the attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast yet, but it is suspected to be the work of Boko Haram.

The Islamist militant group carried out a series of attacks on churches and other locations on Christmas Day last year.

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

Tony Udo, a Kaduna resident, said the blast shattered windows in the church and nearby houses and vehicles.

"A suicide bomber in a vehicle was moving towards the ECWA Church and the All Nations Christian Assembly," he said.

"Security agents accosted and repelled him."

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.

The car bombing came as Pope Benedict used his Easter Sunday message in Rome to condemn attacks on Christian churches in Nigeria.

"To Nigeria, which in recent times has experienced savage terrorist attacks, may the joy of Easter grant the strength needed to take up anew the building of a society which is peaceful and respectful of the religious freedom of its citizens," he said.

The UK's Minister for Africa Henry Bellingham condemned the attack.

"This horrific act took place on Easter Sunday injuring and killing innocent people," he said.

"The full tragedy of the attacks is not yet clear, but I send my sincere condolences to those who have been injured or bereaved."

Britain and the US last week warned their citizens living in Africa's most populous country that violence was likely to flare during the Easter period.

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, although Christians have been targeted as well.