The death toll from a series of bomb blasts in the central Nigerian city of Jos and post-attack ethnic clashes have climbed to at least 86 people.
The attacks which came on Chrisman Eve in densely populated areas of the city were followed by violent clashes and claimed the lives of at least 38 people.
A militant group in the country has claimed the responsibility for the explosions, AFP reported on Tuesday.
The attacks were meant "to start avenging the atrocities committed against Muslims in those areas, and the country in general," said a statement posted on a website purported to belong to a group named Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad on Tuesday.
Suspected members of the group known as Boko Haram, which launched an uprising in Nigeria last year, have previously said they want to be known as a group that goes by that name.
Nigerian police have cast doubt on the claim, saying there appeared to be no link between the incidents in the country's north and central regions.
According to the statement, the group has also claimed responsibility for the church attacks in Nigeria.
Many believe that the unrest is related to the struggle for economic and political power between the Christian Beroms, seen as the indigenous ethnic group in the region, and the Hausa-Fulani Muslims, viewed as the more recent arrivals.
SB/PKH/AKM