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Catholic leaders in Nigeria have cautiously welcomed the reported U.S. military strikes against elements of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) operating in the country, describing the joint U.S.-Nigeria action as a long-awaited intervention that could signal renewed seriousness in addressing terrorism, insurgency, and banditry that have plagued the West African nation for over a decade.
The sole victim of Sunday’s attack on a Catholic church in Istanbul was a Muslim man who regularly attended Mass, according to his relatives.
Escalating bloodshed in Nigeria is fueled in part by religious extremism – and the United States must recognize this in order to achieve peace, says the former U.S. religious freedom ambassador.
As the Egyptian Coptic Church marks the 5th anniversary of the 21 Christian men who were beheaded by ISIS on a Libyan beach on February 15, 2015, the mother of two brothers who were among those that were killed by the abductors has said that she is a “mother of martyrs” and exuded confidence that her sons are in heaven, praying for her family.