Nigeria

(ADDS NEW DEATH TOLL FIGURE, CHANGING LEAD, ADDS COMMENT PRESIDENT) By BosNewsLife Africa Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- Islamic militants shouting "Allahu Akbar", or 'Allah is great', carried out coordinated gun and bomb attacks on churches and police stations in northern Nigeria, killing at least 150 people and injuring some 100 others, aid workers and witnesses confirmed Saturday, November 5.  

By BosNewsLife News Center with reports from Africa and Asia JAKARTA/ABUJA/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- North Korea leads a list of nations where "Christians face the most severe persecution", but "Muslim-majority" countries represent nine of the top 10 amid spreading Islamic extremism around the world, a major Christian watchdog said in comments obtained by BosNewsLife Thursday, January 5.  

By BosNewsLife Africa Service ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- Two teenage Christian girls who were recently abducted by Islamic militants in Nigeria have escaped, Christian aid workers say. The Voice Of the Martyrs (VOM) aid and advocacy group said it is providing assistance to the two sisters, identified as Kamka, 19, and Naya, 16.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- At least 12 people, including a pastor and a deacon, were killed when suspected Islamic militants attacked two churches in northern Nigeria during Christmas Eve services, Christians and police said Tuesday, December 25.

By BosNewsLife Middle East Service with BosNewsLife's Chief International Correspondent Stefan J. Bos. TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Christians on Wednesday, July 11, urged prayers for "everyone" involved in the case of an Iranian pastor who marked his 1,000th day behind bars while awaiting possible execution for refusing to recant his faith in Christ and return to Islam.

By BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos with Paul Jongas reporting from Nigeria ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- Islamic militants attacked a predominantly Christian area in northeastern Nigeria on Sunday, November 3, "slaughtering" villagers, just days after they killed Christians elsewhere in the region, residents and pastors said. Local media quoted fleeing residents as saying suspected members of the Boko Haram group "slaughtered several people as they were heading to church" in Sabon Gari, on the border of Nigeria's Borno and Adamawa states.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service ABUJA/NAIROBI (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in Kenya and Nigeria were mourning Monday, June 16, the aftermath of two massive attacks by Islamic militants in which at least some 120 people died.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in Nigeria were among those plunged into uncertainty Friday, December 19, after Islamic militants stormed a remote village in north-eastern Nigeria, killing at least 33 people and kidnapping about 200 other people, survivors said.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- Nigerian authorities said Sunday, July 8, that at least 63 people were killed when suspected Muslim herdsmen armed with guns and machetes stormed Christian villages, while missionaries claimed over 50 pastors and missionary leaders died in separate violence

By BosNewsLife Africa Service ABUJA, NIGERIA (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in two states of Nigeria were mourning Wednesday, July 7, the killings of at least eight Christian believers, after Muslim militants reportedly attacked several villages.