Gunmen raided a mainly Christian village in Nigeria's restive Kaduna State, killing 10 people, including a pastor and injuring four others, police said Saturday.

"Ten people were killed in an attack on Nayi village in Chikun local government by unknown gunmen," state police spokesman Aminu Lawan told Agence France Presse.

Nigeria's government and Islamist group Boko Haram have been in indirect talks to end deadly violence blamed on the extremists, two sources familiar with the discussions said Friday.

"There have been preliminary talks between a Boko Haram-appointed intermediary," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that Boko Haram has set out terms for a temporary ceasefire.

Gunmen shot dead three Christians near the flashpoint central city of Jos, hours after 10 people were killed in a suicide bombing of a Catholic church, the Plateau state government said Monday.

The gunmen struck late Sunday in a village south of the city, where Christian-Muslim tensions were running high after the church attack, government spokesman Pam Ayuba told Agence France Presse.

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Catholic church in central Nigeria on Sunday, killing seven people and sparking panic in which security forces shot three others dead.

It was the second suicide attack on a church in the flashpoint central city of Jos in two weeks, after a February 26 attack claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram killed three people and injured dozens.

A car laden with explosives detonated outside of a Catholic church Sunday in a restive city in central Nigeria, killing at least three people and injuring others, a rescue official said.

The blast happened Sunday morning outside of St. Sinba's Catholic Church in the city of Jos.

A Briton and an Italian taken hostage in northern Nigeria were apparently killed by their captors before the men could be rescued in a military operation Thursday, Britain's prime minister said.

"We are still awaiting confirmation of the details, but the early indications are clear that both men were murdered by their captors, before they could be rescued," David Cameron said in a statement.

Attackers suspected to be from a rival ethnic group have stormed a remote area of Nigeria, killing at least 16 and burning homes in the latest flare-up of tensions in the region, police said Tuesday.

The violence broke out on Sunday when suspected members of the Fulani ethnic group descended on communities dominated by ethnic Tivs in Benue state in eastern Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, a police spokesman said.

Troops in Nigeria's northern city of Maiduguri on Monday shot dead three suspected members of the Islamist Boko Haram sect as they allegedly tried to burn down a school, the army said.

"Around 3:00 am (0200 GMT) today, men of the JTF interrupted five suspected members of Boko Haram trying to burn down a school in the heart of Maiduguri metropolis," Lieutenant Colonel Hassam Mohammed told Agence France Presse by telephone.

A top U.S. official on Monday pledged to help Nigeria address security threats as Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer deals with scores of attacks blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram.

"I think the United States wants to support Nigeria in every way that is appropriate from Nigeria's point of view, to deal with any threat here in this country," U.S. Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman told reporters.

Three suspected members of the Boko Haram sect were killed while assembling bombs in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri, considered the group's stronghold, an army spokesman said Saturday.

The explosion in the Kaleri suburb of the northern city on Friday destroyed a house and dismembered the three Islamist sect members, Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed of the special military unit in Maiduguri said.