NIAMEY (Reuters) – About 10 soldiers were killed and seven injured in an attack in Niger’s Dosso region this week, authorities said in a statement broadcast on state radio, while a security source told Reuters the death toll could be higher.
The statement attributed Monday’s ambush in southern Niger to “terrorists” and said several of the assailants had been killed and others arrested.
Alongside its Sahel neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger is battling an insurgency by jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
The security source said 18 soldiers were missing. Three security vehicles were also stolen, the source said.
The government ordered a ban on the use of motorcycles in the affected communities, according to a directive seen by Reuters.
Last month, 12 soldiers were killed and five Indian citizens kidnapped in an attack in Niger near the turbulent tri-border region with Mali and Burkina Faso.
In March, authorities blamed the EIGS group, an Islamic State affiliate, for an attack on a mosque near the tri-border area in which at least 44 civilians were killed.
The governor of southern Niger’s Dosso region, Colonel Major Bana Alassane, travelled to the area a day after the attack to offer condolences to the soldiers’ families, the government statement said.
(Reporting by Boureima Balima and Moussa Aksar; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Ros Russell)
