NIAMEY: Six Nigerien soldiers were killed in a bomb blast near the border with Mali, Niger’s army said Thursday, adding over 10 “terrorists” were later killed in air strikes.
An army patrol vehicle early this week hit a homemade landmine near the southwestern village of Tingara, the defense ministry said in a bulletin. Other soldiers were also injured and taken to hospital, it added.
Niger is ruled by military leaders who controlled power in a July coup, citing a worsening security situation as justification for the power grab.
But militant violence that had already gone on for eight years has continued.
The patrol was heading back from Inates in the western region of Tillaberi, which is prone to militant attacks.
The army said it later carried out an air strike after tracking those it said were responsible and “neutralised” several of them.
Another air strike targeted “a group of terrorists” in Amalaoulaou in Mali, killing at least eight fighters and destroying equipment, the military said
Last month, 23 Nigerien soldiers died in a “terrorist” attack in Tillaberi, which borders Burkina Faso and Mali, both also under military regimes.
