A car bomb ripped through a busy shopping center in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Wednesday.
At least 21 people were killed in the explosion, according to the Associated Press.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack which comes just days after a suicide bomber attacked a World Cup viewing center on June 17 in Damaturu, a city in northern Nigeria, killing at least 14. The attack, however, bears the hallmark of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram which has conducted a campaign of violence in Nigeria recently.
At the scene of the explosion on Wednesday, blood-stained shoppers ran screaming from the the blast site as emergency workers tried to evacuate people to nearby medical facilities, according to witnesses.
I'm home. Shaken, grateful, angry. What I saw....people screaming, running, bleeding. Driving shelter skelter. Total madness.— Hauwa Datti-Garba (@kuluwaz) June 25, 2014
I saw a man running, with shrapnel in his side. Collapsed a few feet away. A jeep filled with injured people. Rushed to d hospital.— Hauwa Datti-Garba (@kuluwaz) June 25, 2014
Truckloads of army personnel, sirens blaring, adding to the confusion. All I could think; This is what Maiduguri people live with. Oh Lord!— Hauwa Datti-Garba (@kuluwaz) June 25, 2014
The blast, near a crowded shopping complex, reportedly ripped through several cars, shattering windows and shook nearby buildings. In the minutes following the explosion, black smoke could be seen billowing above the carnage.
Hmmmmmmm!!!! Another bomb blast rocks plaza in Abuja during the Argentina --Nigeria match..#WorldCup2014 pic.twitter.com/kd57O6jKhc— views and tunes (@viewsandtunes) June 25, 2014
Explosion @ emab plaza,Abuja. pic.twitter.com/mgVMBRvSxS— abbas muhammed (@bundus92) June 25, 2014
BREAKING: Explosion at Emab plaza, a major shopping mall, Abuja #Nigeria pic.twitter.com/ivU9kxRfN2— Lisa Daftari (@LisaDaftari) June 25, 2014
BomB Blast @ Emab Plaza Wuse II Abuja. pic.twitter.com/G9SlTqOfDq— Despicable ♍ε™ (@Nando_sucre) June 25, 2014
The video below shows emergency officials hosing down hollowed-out cars.
Boko Haram is notorious for car bomb attacks such as this. In April, two explosions killed more than 120 people and wounded about 200 at a busy bus station in Abuja. Boko Haram took responsibility for both attacks.
As late as yesterday, Boko Haram made news, allegedly kidnapping 91 children from a northeastern village. The radicals gained worldwide notoriety in April when they abducted more than 200 girls, who are still missing.
Editors' note: The original version of this story suggested that the bomb went off during Wednesday's World Cup match between Nigeria and Argentina. The bomb actually went went off about an hour before the game began. We have updated the story accordingly.