Bomb blast hits Nigeria's Kaduna city

A powerful bomb blast rocked the city of Kaduna in northern Nigeria, sparking fears of heavy casualties on Wednesday, a Xinhua reporter said. "Powerful explosions were heard in Ogbomosho area of Kaduna today," the reporter said on phone. The bombs were believed to have been planted by the Boko Haram radical sect. The bombing occurred after a two-day ``Peace and Unity for Development'' conference organized by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in Kaduna State. A Xinhua reporter in the state said he saw dead bodies whose skin was torn into shreds by the impact of the blast. The reporter said the explosion, which occurred near a densely populated area, threw the entire neighborhood into panic and confusion as residents scampered to safety. He added that anti-bomb disposal security agents were immediately deployed to the scene of the bomb blast to detonate any other unexploded bomb that may have been left in the vicinity. The country's fundamentalists had laid a siege on northern part of Nigeria with incessant bomb explosions and killings, forcing residents to flee to other parts of the West African country believed to be safe.