Nigeria's Boko Haram 'bombed Kaduna churches'

Radical Islamist group Boko Haram has said it was behind Sunday's suicide bombings of three churches in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna.

The blasts were in revenge for what it said were previous Christian "atrocities" against Muslims, the group said in an email sent to local media.

At least 50 people were killed in the bombings and reprisal killings, the Red Cross says.

Boko Haram has carried out a series of deadly attacks in the past two years.

Retaliatory attacks
The Red Cross says another 131 people were injured by the violence - the third weekend in a row in which Boko Haram has carried out bombings on churches.

Two of Sunday's blasts happened in the Wusasa and Sabon-Gari districts of the town of Zaria and a third hit the nearby city of Kaduna, the state capital.

Rioting broke out in different parts of Kaduna state as youth took to the streets in anger and attacked Muslims.

BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross in Lagos says the church bombings are a serious threat to the stability of Nigeria because existing religious divisions mean there is a danger of retaliatory attacks spiralling out of control.

The Red Cross says another 131 people were injured by the violence - the third weekend in a row in which Boko Haram has carried out bombings on churches.

Two of Sunday's blasts happened in the Wusasa and Sabon-Gari districts of the town of Zaria and a third hit the nearby city of Kaduna, the state capital.

Rioting broke out in different parts of Kaduna state as youth took to the streets in anger and attacked Muslims.

BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross in Lagos says the church bombings are a serious threat to the stability of Nigeria because existing religious divisions mean there is a danger of retaliatory attacks spiralling out of control.