A car bomb has exploded in front of the state television offices in the north eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri killing at least seven people, Reuters reported quoting witnesses.

The bomb exploded at about 1:25pm local time (1225 GMT) outside the state television offices, civil servant Abubakar Zakariya told Reuters.

Another witness said the bomb came from a three-wheeled rickshaw taxi, known locally as tricycles.

"I saw two boys on the ground and their bodies cut into pieces, two other cars immediately caught fire and I ran away because there was too much blood," local resident Aisha Hassan told Reuters.

People splattered with blood tried to flee as a second car was ignited by the explosion and soldiers started firing automatic rifles.

Maiduguri is the capital of Borno state and the focal point of an armed rebellion waged by Boko Haram, which wants to create an Islamic state in the north of Africas most populous nation and top oil exporter.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May to quell the violence and thousands of security forces were deployed to the area.

They swiftly drove fighters out of Maiduguri and most other cities but the attacks have been occurring in the urban centres.

On December 2, hundreds of Boko Haram fighters in trucks and a stolen armored personnel carrier attacked an air force base and international airport on the outskirts of Maiduguri in one of the armed groups most daring attacks.

Two helicopters and three decommissioned military aircraft were heavily damaged in the attack.

Al Jazeera