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| US non-government worker seized in Niger | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| A US NGO worker has been seized and his two guards killed in western Niger, his NGO and a local official say. | |
| He was driven towards the border with Mali, the mayor of the town of Abalak, Ahmed Dilo, told Reuters news agency. | He was driven towards the border with Mali, the mayor of the town of Abalak, Ahmed Dilo, told Reuters news agency. |
| Gunmen arrived on a motorbike and then an all-terrain vehicle, first killing the guards and then taking the aid worker away in the car, he said. | Gunmen arrived on a motorbike and then an all-terrain vehicle, first killing the guards and then taking the aid worker away in the car, he said. |
| Niger has been less prone to kidnappings than Mali, where militant groups are more active. | |
| A French-led military operation banished Islamist fighters from towns in northern Mali in 2013, but militant groups still roam the extensive desert region. | A French-led military operation banished Islamist fighters from towns in northern Mali in 2013, but militant groups still roam the extensive desert region. |
| Niger battles on all fronts | |
| A spokesman for the NGO Youth With A Mission (YWAM) said the aid worker, who had 29 years of experience in Niger, was abducted from his home in Abalak. | |
| His current whereabouts were not known and no group had yet claimed responsibility for his abduction, the spokesman said. | |
| A local Tuareg night guard and a national guard were killed during the incident. | |
| The aid worker was working with a locally-based development organisation, JEMED, which has links to YWAM. | |
| His family had been informed and the US government was tracking the situation, the spokesman added. | |
| Niger is trying to prevent violence spreading from Mali on its western border as well as battling Boko Haram militants carrying out raids across Niger's southern frontier with Nigeria. | Niger is trying to prevent violence spreading from Mali on its western border as well as battling Boko Haram militants carrying out raids across Niger's southern frontier with Nigeria. |
| A Malian refugee camp in the region containing Abalak was attacked a week ago and 22 soldiers were killed. | A Malian refugee camp in the region containing Abalak was attacked a week ago and 22 soldiers were killed. |