Two Italian priests and a Canadian nun were kidnapped in Cameroon overnight, Vatican radio said.

The radio station, part of the official news service of the Catholic Church, said two groups of armed men had raided the houses of priests and nuns in the parish of Maroua in northern Cameroon at around 2:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT).

Italy's Foreign Ministry named the priests as Giampaolo Marta and Gianantonio Allegri, from the diocese of Vicenza in northeast Italy. It did not identify the nun and said it was working with the Italian embassy in Yaounde to resolve the situation.

A spokesman said the ministry did not have any information on whether the assault was carried out by Boko Haram Islamist militants, as reported by Italian media.

Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in its insurgency in northern Nigeria, which borders the north of Cameroon

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