Turkey strongly condemns trio church bombings in Nigeria

Turkey has strongly condemned trio of deadly church bombings on Sunday in Nigeria?s northern state of Kaduna, which, along with ensuing reprisal killings, left at least 70 people dead and over 100 wounded.

A radical Islamist sect on Monday claimed responsibility for Sunday's suicide attacks at two churches in the city of Zaria and another in the city of Kaduna that left 21 people dead, according to an initial count. But the Nigerian Red Cross said late Sunday that the death toll had jumped to 50, to include reprisal killings.

The reprisals highlight festering religious tensions in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people. The attacks occurred in the religious flashpoint state of Kaduna that sits at the border between the country's predominantly Muslim north and its mainly Christian south. A history of attacks and counterattacks between the two communities means that authorities are often cautious about releasing death figures.

A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry late on Tuesday reiterated Turkey?s earlier statements in which it expressed concerns over the escalating violence in the past six months in Nigeria. The statement said Turkey fears that the violence could be morphed into a religion-based conflict. ?

The Islamist Boko Haram sect is waging an increasingly bloody fight with Nigeria's security agencies and public. More than 580 people have been killed in violence blamed on the sect this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.

Churches have been increasingly targeted by violence in Nigeria. This is the third weekend in a row that Boko Haram is claiming responsibility for church attacks in central and northern Nigeria. Statements attributed to the group said they were responsible for church attacks in the first and second Sundays of June that killed at least 21 people.

Turkey also expressed ?deep concern? over retaliatory attacks on Muslim communities because of the bombings and called on religious communities in Nigeria to restore peace.

Turkey expressed condolences to the people of Nigeria and said Turkey will continue to stand by Nigerian state and people in its fight against every kind of extremism.

Boko Haram unleashed multiple attacks in northeastern Nigeria in a retaliatory attacks, killing at least 25 people on Tuesday.

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