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Dozen killed in weekend attacks on two Nigerian villages

TASHAN ALEDE, Nigeria, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Attacks in two Nigerian villages by suspected members of Boko Haram killed at least 12 people during the weekend, officials said.

At lest eight people were killed during a party in Tashan Alede Saturday and four died in an attack in Kwajjafa Sunday, the Nigerian Tribune reported.

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Mallam Isuwa Hyelkuzuku, who lives in Kwajjafa, said villagers weren't surprised by the attacks after a video message was released Friday purportedly by Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.

"We heard on the radio and read in the newspapers that Boko Haram is fighting a religious war -- according to their leader, Shekau -- and they are targeting Christians," Hyelkuzuku said in a Tribune report Monday. "I don't know if Christianity or Islam is written on the faces of adherents of the religions. Those killed were not all Christians. If their claim of fighting for Islam is right, what wrong has Christianity done to Islam that they are waging this war?"

In the video, Shekau said Boko Haram followers were warriors of Islam waging a religious war on Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan and Christians.

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"This is to show our Muslim brethren that victory comes from Allah," Shekau said. "This is just a tip of the iceberg ... ."

On Friday, about 100 gunmen attacked a remote village in Zamfara state, wounding about 50 villagers and stealing more than 300 animals, the Tribune said.

Boko Haram, an Islamic militant group, has been fighting to impose Sharia law in Nigeria, which has large Muslim and Christian populations.

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