Dozens of people were feared killed in an explosion that rocked a local market in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kano Wednesday, witnesses told Xinhua.
The explosive device was planted in a car park at the Nigeria's Kantin Kwari Market, one of the biggest and busiest textile markets in the northern region of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, a witness named Salihu Ahmed said.
"So many people, more than 20, have died; many others were injured. Rescue operators have just arrived and the security operatives have now cordoned off the area," the witness said.
Another witness identified as Baba Ibrahim said he saw many bodies while running for safety after the loud blast.
It is still unsure whether the attack was a perpetration of the militant sect Boko Haram which has carried out a series of similar attacks in the country.
The Kantin Kwari Market, located in the city centrte of Kano, is a Mecca of sorts to merchants of textile materials in the West African country.