Large explosion strikes Nigerian church on Christmas day

A powerful explosion has hit a church near the Nigerian capital Abuja on Christmas morning, an emergency official said, adding that there were casualties, but he could not immediately provide a figure.

"Explosion in St Theresa Church close to Abuja," said Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency of the blast in the Madalla area.

"There are casualties, but we can't talk about figures for now," he added.

People were inside the church at the time of the blast, but Shuaib could not say how many.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Felix Onuah, a Nigerian journalist said emergency workers are working to evacuate the scared and the injured from the area where a Christmas day procession and service were being held.

The emergency agency says it does not have enough ambulances available to evacuate the dead and the wounded, according to Reuters.

Onuah said "many" were feared dead, but no one was able to confirm any figures at the time because of the chaos.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though Nigeria has been hit by scores of bomb blasts and shootings attributed to the rebel group Boko Haram.

The group claimed responsibility for the August suicide bombing of United Nations headquarters in Abuja that killed at least 24 people.

This has happened after dozens of people were killed during two days of clashes between Islamist militants and Nigerian security forces in a northeastern town.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country is currently engulfed in what is a simmering low-level insurgency which has left soldiers dead and wounded. The fighting began Thursday between Boko Haram militants and the military in the Yobe state town of Damaturu.