Why are IS attacks against Christians on the rise in Africa?

Dozens of people were killed in a bomb blast at a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo last weekend.

In Nigeria, a priest was killed and another was abducted in the last few days.

By mid-January, women and children were kidnapped in Burkina Faso.

These are just a few of recent incidents where people in various African countries have been targeted.

What do they have in common? The Islamic State-affiliated groups in those countries have claimed responsibility for the attacks.

And this is just a small snapshot of what’s been happening on the continent in recent years.

A BBC analysis has uncovered that attacks by Islamic State or IS in sub-Saharan Africa are on a “steady rise“.

Alan Kasujja is finding out why this rise and speaks with Abdirahim Saeed, a journalist with the BBC Monitoring. He specialises in extremist jihadist groups.