A suicide bombing outside Nigeria's national police headquarters in Abuja has killed at least two people, including the bomber.

A spokesman for the Islamist radical group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the blast in an interview with VOA.

The group is blamed for a string of deadly attacks in Nigeria's north that have targeted police officers, government officials and other authority figures.

Thursday's bombing happened in a parking lot as a traffic warden showed the bomber where to park his vehicle.

The Nigerian Red Cross says at least seven people were wounded in the blast, and police say more than 30 cars were destroyed.

Police cordoned off all roads leading to the area.

Nigeria experiences frequent bomb attacks, stemming from political and sectarian tensions.

Last October, 12 people died in twin car bombings in Abuja on Nigeria's independence day. Authorities blamed the attack on militants from the country's volatile Niger Delta region.

Boko Haram is believed to carry out most of the bombings and killings in Nigeria's northeast, especially in Borno state. The group is pushing to impose strict Islamic law across the north.

Boko Haram carried out a brief uprising against the government in July 2009, sparking a heavy military response and a week of fighting that killed some 700 people/