A number of explosions rocked a Christian quarter in Nigeria's northern and mainly Muslim city of Kano – killing at least 12 people.

A Military Joint Task Force spokesman blamed the bomb attack on members of the Islamic extremist Boko Haram network.

Witness Kolade Ade said at least one blast appeared to come from a Mercedes-Benz car parked next to a bar.

However, the military said the explosions were not the work of a suicide bomber but from parcels of explosives planted in the area.

Nigeria is fighting an Islamic uprising by extremists, based mainly in the north east, where the government has declared a state of emergency.

Kano city and state is not part of that emergency. Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden," wants to impose Islamic law across Nigeria.

The explosions came as hundreds of people thronged the area in Sabon Gari neighbourhood, and raised fears among the city's mainly Muslim population.

In March, a suicide bomber drove a car loaded with explosives into a bustling bus station in the same area, killing 25 people and, exactly a year ago, suspected Islamic militants attempted to attack a mosque in Kano city.

The Boko Haram network is blamed for the killings of more than 1600 people since 2010, when suicide bombers drove a car filled with explosives into the lobby of the United Nations headquarters in Abuja.