Part of a car used for detonating a bomb is seen at the scene of a blast in Nigeria's northern city of Kaduna April 8, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
The death toll from a car bombing in the Nigerian city of Kaduna on Easter Sunday has risen to at least 39, with more than 30 wounded, a rescue official said on Tuesday.
"We have 39 dead and over 30 injured," the rescue official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release figures. The previous death toll was 36.
Motorcycle taxi drivers and passers-by had borne the brunt of the blast, which occurred near a church in Kaduna, an important cultural and economic centre in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north.
The explosion was a stark reminder of Christmas Day attacks claimed by Islamist group Boko Haram that left dozens of people dead in Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer.
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.
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