BEIRUT: Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya denounced Tuesday recent attacks claimed by Boko Haram on churches in Nigeria that led to the killing of over two dozen people.

“[We] condemn these attacks and consider the victims to be innocent souls that should not have been attacked in any shape or form. These acts are unacceptable in Islam as in all other heavenly religions,” Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya said in a statement.

On Christmas Day Sunday, Boko Haram, which seeks to impose Sharia law across Nigeria split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims, claimed responsibility for the church attacks. The group claimed responsibility for similar attacks on Christmas last year.

Rights groups say over 250 people have been killed by Boko Haram since July 2010.

Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya urged Nigerians to open channels of dialogue and said instability in the country would only benefit the “global Zionist colonizer.”