Two Italian priests and a Canadian nun kidnapped by gunmen in northern Cameroon

PLEASE NOTE: This does not mean Cameroon is not a safe country. 

Two Italian priests and a Canadian nun have been kidnapped by gunmen in northern Cameroon, Italy's foreign ministry and media reports said, the latest kidnapping incident targeted Christian clergy in the African country.

The attack occurred overnight in the north of the west African country, which borders violence-wracked Nigeria, according to Italian Ansa news agency's report on Saturday.

This attack comes nearly three months after the release of French priest Georges Vandenbeusch, who was kidnapped in the same region in mid-November 2013 and then held in neighbouring Nigeria by Boko Haram.

One of the two priests taken on Friday night had been in Cameroon for more than six years, while the second had arrived around a year ago, Ansa reported.