Two explosions have been heard in the central Nigerian city of Jos, a flashpoint of sectarian and ethnic clashes, security officials and witnesses said, but details were unclear.

Witnesses to the Sunday night blasts, however, said two explosions occurred at a packed outdoor eatery.

"Yes there were minor explosions, nothing serious," Emmanuel Ayeni, police chief for the region, told the AFP news agency.

One person was reportedly wounded in the blast - the latest to hit Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, in recent months.

"One person was injured and taken to hospital," a resident of the area, Steve Aluko-Daniel, said by phone.
A spokesperson for a special military task force deployed in the city, Charles Ekeocha, also confirmed hearing of explosions, but gave no details.

"I was in my room, when I heard a blast that sounded like dynamite, the kind used in blasting rocks," said a resident in the neighbourhood, who identified herself only as Pauline.

She said before she could establish what had happened, "we heard another blast and we saw people running away from the area saying there were blasts. They said there were two explosives thrown from a moving vehicle."

Jos has been hit by waves of violence between Christian and Muslim groups that have left hundreds dead in recent years.

The area lies between the predominantly Christian south and mainly Muslim north.