Suspected Islamic extremists have targeted two Christian villages in mainly Muslim north-east Nigeria and killed at least 12 civilians, including guests at a wedding reception, witnesses said.

A video posted online appears to show the bodies of some of the seven foreign hostages abducted from northern Nigeria and later killed by Islamic extremists.

European diplomats said seven foreign hostages kidnapped in Nigeria had been killed as claimed by Islamic extremists, the worst such foreign abduction violence to hit the West African nation in decades.

Nigeria’s government and police remained silent today after radical Islamic fighters killed seven foreign hostages.

A shadowy Islamic extremist group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of seven foreign building workers in northern Nigeria.