At least five people have been killed and 19 others seriously injured in a blast in Taraba state in north-east Nigeria.

The explosion on Tuesday evening occurred at a bar in Iware, a busy commercial centre near the state capital, Jalingo.

Police spokesman Abdullahi Usman said one suspected attacker had died, but it wasn’t clear whether he was a suicide bomber.

Eyewitnesses said the explosive was inside a bag that was hidden at the bar.

Iware is a major market town where traders from different parts of the country buy and sell livestock and foodstuffs.

In 2012, three suicide bombers on motorcycles rammed the convoy of a local police chief. At least 11 people including the attackers died in the blast, which was blamed on Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

Taraba state borders Adamawa state in the north-east and neighbouring Cameroon. It had previously been spared the insurgency plaguing Nigeria’s north-east.