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Gunmen attack church in Nigeria, killing two and kidnapping others
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Gunmen reportedly attacked a church in Nigeria, killing at least two people and kidnapping the pastor and some worshippers, according to Reuters, which cited police and witnesses.
The attack occurred on Tuesday evening in Eruku, a town in central Nigeria’s Kwara State. Reuters said it reviewed and verified a video from a local news outlet showing gunfire interrupting a service at Christ Apostolic Church and forcing parishioners to take cover. The outlet noted that in the video, armed men are seen entering and taking worshippers’ belongings as gunshots ring out.
AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the governor of Kwara State, Nigeria, reportedly asked for the immediate deployment of security operatives after the attack, Reuters reported citing the governor’s spokesperson.
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Worshippers pray ahead of hearing gunshots and gunmen entering the Church in Eruku, Kwara State, Nigeria, on Nov. 18, 2025, in this screengrab taken from a social media video. (Social media/via Reuters)
The attack comes just days after gunmen kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State and killed at least one staffer. Police spokesperson Nafi’u Abubakar Kotarkoshi told The Associated Press the gunmen had «sophisticated weapons» and exchanged fire with guards before abducting the girls.
«A combined team is currently combing suspected escape routes and surrounding forests in a coordinated search and rescue operation aimed at recovering the abducted students and arresting the perpetrators,» he said, adding that one person was killed and another was injured.
Gunmen pick up the belongings left behind by worshippers who ran for cover after hearing gunshots, as they walk into a Church in Eruku, Kwara State, Nigeria, Nov. 18, 2025, in this picture obtained from social media. (Social media/via Reuters)
President Donald Trump has designated Nigeria as a country of particular concern amid escalating violence against Christians in the West African nation.
ARMED ATTACKERS IN NIGERIA KIDNAP 25 GIRLS FROM BOARDING SCHOOL
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz held an event highlighting the ongoing violence in Nigeria. During the event, Waltz called the killings of Christians in Nigeria «genocide wearing the mask of chaos.»
«There is a body of evidence, and you are going to hear that from our experts today that paints a very grim picture of disproportionate suffering among Christians, where, again, families are torn apart, clergy is repeatedly assassinated, and entire congregations, church congregations,» Waltz said.
Worshippers run for cover after hearing gunshots in a Church in Eruku, Kwara State, Nigeria, Nov. 18, 2025, in this screengrab taken from a social media video. (Social media/via Reuters)
«Folks, we have an entire faith that is being erased, one bullet at a time, one torched Bible at a time,» he added.
Rap superstar Nicki Minaj, who has been vocal about her support for the Trump administration’s efforts to combat the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, spoke at Waltz’s event.
«In Nigeria, Christians are being targeted, driven from their homes and killed. Churches have been burned. Families have been torn apart, and entire communities live in fear constantly, simply because of how they pray,» Minaj said.
«Sadly, this problem is not only a growing problem in Nigeria, but also in so many other countries across the world, and it demands urgent action,» the rap mogul said. «And I want to be clear, protecting Christians in Nigeria is not about taking sides or dividing people. It is about uniting humanity.»
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Fox News Digital reached out to AbdulRazaq’s office and the U.S. mission to the United Nations.
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan and Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.
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Pope Leo XIV warned Sunday that U.S.-Israel airstrikes on Iran risk plunging the Middle East into an «irreparable abyss,» urging leaders to halt a dangerous spiral of violence.
Speaking at the Angelus, the pontiff expressed «deep concern» over recent developments and called on nations to choose dialogue over war.
«Stability and peace are not built with mutual threats, nor with weapons, which sow destruction, pain, and death, but only through a reasonable, authentic, and responsible dialogue,» the pope said, according to Vatican News.
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican on March 1, 2026. The pontiff warned that escalating violence in the Middle East risks becoming an «irreparable abyss.» (Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane)
«Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions,» he added, «I address to the parties involved a heartfelt appeal to assume the moral responsibility to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss!»
The pope’s warning came after Israel and the U.S. launched a joint military operation against Iran on Saturday, dubbed «Operation Epic Fury.» The attacks reportedly killed several senior leaders, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for more than three decades.
Meanwhile, Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed miles from Jerusalem.
The pope reinforced his warning in a two-part message posted Sunday morning on X.
PUTIN: KILLING OF KHAMENEI A ‘CYNICAL VIOLATION’ OF MORALITY
Smoke rises over Tehran after Israeli airstrikes on Iran, Feb. 28, 2026. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«I am following with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and in Iran during this tumultuous time,» he wrote.
«Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue.»
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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In a follow-up post, he warned of «the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions» and urged all parties involved to «assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm.»
«May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld. And let us continue to pray for peace,» he added.
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Some of the top rumored Democratic potential candidates for president in 2028 are showing a united front in opposing U.S. strikes on Iran, with several high-profile figures accusing President Donald Trump of launching an unnecessary and unconstitutional war.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris said Trump was «dragging the United States into a war the American people do not want.»
«Let me be clear: I am opposed to a regime-change war in Iran, and our troops are being put in harm’s way for the sake of Trump’s war of choice,» Harris said in a statement Saturday following the joint U.S. and Israeli strikes throughout Iran.
«This is a dangerous and unnecessary gamble with American lives that also jeopardizes stability in the region and our standing in the world,» she continued. «What we are witnessing is not strength. It is recklessness dressed up as resolve.»
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are seen in separate appearances as leading Democratic 2028 hopefuls spoke out against U.S. strikes on Iran. (Big Event Media/Getty Images for HumanX Conference; REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen; Mario Tama/Getty Images)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered some of his sharpest criticism during a book tour stop Saturday night in San Francisco, accusing Trump of manufacturing a crisis.
«It stems from weakness masquerading as strength,» Newsom said. «He lied to you. So reckless is the only way to describe this.»
«He didn’t describe to the American people what the endgame is here,» Newsom added. «There wasn’t one. He manufactured it.»
Newsom is currently promoting his memoir, «Young Man in a Hurry,» with recent and upcoming stops in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada — three key early voting states in the Democratic presidential calendar.
Earlier in the day, Newsom said Iran’s «corrupt and repressive» regime must never obtain nuclear weapons and that the «leadership of Iran must go.»
«But that does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war that will risk the lives of our American service members and our friends without justification to the American people,» Newsom wrote on X.
California is home to more than half of the roughly 400,000 Iranian immigrants in the United States, including a large community in West Los Angeles often referred to as «Tehrangeles.»
DEMOCRATS BUCK PARTY LEADERS TO DEFEND TRUMP’S ‘DECISIVE ACTION’ ON IRAN
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a leading progressive voice and «Squad» member, accused Trump of dragging Americans into a conflict they did not support.
«The American people are once again dragged into a war they did not want by a president who does not care about the long-term consequences of his actions. This war is unlawful. It is unnecessary. And it will be catastrophic,» Ocasio-Cortez said.
«Just this week, Iran and the United States were negotiating key measures that could have staved off war. The President walked away from these discussions and chose war instead,» she continued.
«In moments of war, our Constitution is unambiguous: Congress authorizes war. The President does not,» she said, pledging to vote «YES on Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie’s War Powers Resolution.»
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker criticized the strikes and accused Trump of ignoring Congress. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Vox Media)
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, another Democrat often mentioned as a potential 2028 contender, also criticized the strikes and accused Trump of ignoring Congress.
«No justification, no authorization from Congress, and no clear objective,» Pritzker wrote on X.
«Donald Trump is once again sidestepping the Constitution and once again failing to explain why he’s taking us into another war,» he continued. «Americans asked for affordable housing and health care, not another potentially endless conflict.»
«God protect our troops,» Pritzker added.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro focused his criticism on war powers, arguing Trump acted outside constitutional guardrails.
«In our democracy, the American people — through our elected representatives — decide when our nation goes to war,» Shapiro said, adding that Trump «acted unilaterally — without Congressional approval.»
JONATHAN TURLEY: TRUMP STRIKES IRAN — PRECEDENT AND HISTORY ARE ON HIS SIDE
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro focused his criticism on war powers, arguing Trump acted outside constitutional guardrails. (Rachel Wisniewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«Make no mistake, the Iranian regime represses its own people … they must never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons,» he said. «But that does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war.»
Shapiro added that «Congress must use all available power» to prevent further escalation.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also accused Trump of launching a «war of choice.»
«The President has launched our nation and our great military into a war of choice, risking American lives and resources, ignoring American law, and endangering our allies and partners,» Buttigieg wrote on X. «This nation learned the hard way that an unnecessary war, with no plan for what comes next, can lead to years of chaos and put America in still greater danger.»
Buttigieg has been hitting early voting states, stopping in New Hampshire and Nevada in recent weeks to campaign for Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who has been floated as a rising national figure within the party, said he lost friends in Iraq to an illegal war and opposed the strikes.
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«Young working-class kids should not pay the ultimate price for regime change and a war that hasn’t been explained or justified to the American people. We can support the democracy movement and the Iranian people without sending our troops to die,» Gallego wrote on X.
Fox News’ Daniel Scully and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
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war with iran,politics,gavin newsom,alexandria ocasio cortez,pete buttigieg,ben shapiro,kamala harris
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