Two blasts yesterday evening hit Jos, capital of Plateau State in Nigeria’s North-Central. The attacks came hours after a suicide bomber attacked a church in the restive north-eastern state of Yobe and are believed to have been perpetrated by Boko Haram Islamists.

A restaurant and a Jos-based Muslim religious leader – who has disowned armed group Boko Haram – were targeted in two separate attacks, witnesses said.

Plateau State police spokesman Emmanuel Abuh confirmed there had been two attacks in Jos but had no further details immediately.

“I saw people running out crying, some with bloodstains,” said resident Bashir Abdullahi, describing the scene after he said a suicide bomber ran into the crowded restaurant. “I believe many lives were lost.”

The second attack targeted cleric Sani Yahaya Jingir as he was preaching, witnesses said. Gunmen started shooting sporadically and then there was a loud blast, they said.

“We saw two or three vehicles coming from different directions and we started hearing gunshots from all angles and then a very loud bang, like a bomb being thrown into the mosque,” said witness Abubakar Shehu.

There was no official word on casualties from the two attacks.

•Adapted from an Al Jazeera report. Photo shows scene of a 2014 Boko Haram attack on Jos.