Gunmen kill three people and abduct Catholic priest in northern Nigeria

Gunmen killed three people and abducted a Catholic priest and several others during an early morning attack on the clergyman's residence in northern Nigeria's Kaduna state, church and police sources said on Sunday.

Saturday's assault in the Kauru district highlights persistent insecurity in the region, and came days after security services rescued all 166 worshippers abducted in attacks by gunmen on two churches elsewhere in Kaduna.

A statement by the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan named the kidnapped clergyman as Nathaniel Asuwaye, parish priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Karku.

Attacks in the region have drawn the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has accused Nigeria's government of failing to protect Christians, a charge Abuja denies.

U.S. forces struck what they described as terrorist targets in northwestern Nigeria on December 25.

Rights group Amnesty International said in a statement on Sunday that Nigeria's security crisis was "increasingly getting out of hand". It accused the government of "gross incompetence" and failure to protect civilians as gunmen kill, abduct and terrorise rural communities across several northern states, including Kaduna.

The diocese said 10 other people were abducted along with the priest, adding that three residents had been killed during the attack, which began at about 3:20 a.m. (0220 GMT).

A Kaduna police spokesperson confirmed the incident, but gave a different account of the number of people abducted, and said the three people killed were two soldiers and a police officer.

"What happened was that five people were kidnapped including the chief priest," the spokesperson said. He said police and soldiers had pursued the attackers and cordoned off the area.

"Security agents exchanged gunfire with the bandits, killed some of them, and unfortunately two soldiers and a police officer lost their lives in the process," he said.

-Reporting by Ado Hazzard, Hamza Ibrahm and Ahmed Kingimi;Writing by Ben Ezeamalu; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Helen Popper/Reuters