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Niger ambush: Militants kill 17 soldiers near Mali Niger ambush: Militants kill 28 soldiers near Mali
(about 20 hours later)
Militants have killed 17 Nigerien soldiers in an ambush near the border with Mali, Niger government spokesman has told the BBC. The bodies of 11 Nigerian soldiers missing since Tuesday's ambush have been discovered, bringing the death toll to 28.
Eleven soldiers are missing after the attack near the western village of Tongo Tongo, Abdourahaman Zakariyyah said.
Militants killed four US soldiers at the same place in 2017.Militants killed four US soldiers at the same place in 2017.
Niger and other countries in the Sahel have been facing a growing militant threat from several Islamist groups.Niger and other countries in the Sahel have been facing a growing militant threat from several Islamist groups.
Militants belonging to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) - an affiliate of al-Qaeda - are active in the region and are known to conduct cross-border raids. Militants belonging to affiliates of both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group are active in the region and are known to conduct cross-border raids.
They are most active in neighbouring Mali, where French troops intervened in 2013 to prevent them from advancing on the capital.They are most active in neighbouring Mali, where French troops intervened in 2013 to prevent them from advancing on the capital.
Mr Zakariyyah said the soldiers were in pursuit of militants who attacked a high security prison 50km (30 miles) on Tuesday outside the capital, Niamey. But no group has said it carried out the latest attack.
"One of the soldiers' vehicles drove into a landmine and then the assailants started firing at our soldiers," Mr Zakariyyah told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. How did the attack happen?
He did not identify the perpetrators of the attack but said it happened near where US troops and five Niger soldiers were killed two years ago. The soldiers were in pursuit of militants who attacked a high security prison 50km (30 miles) on Tuesday outside the capital, Niamey, a government spokesman told the BBC.
Six injured soldiers have been evacuated to a hospital in the capital, as a search operation, aided by French and American troops, who have a base in Niger, continue, Mr Zakariyyah said. "One of the soldiers' vehicles drove into a landmine and then the assailants started firing at our soldiers," Mr Zakariyyah told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme on Tuesday.
It was initially reported that 17 soldiers had been killed in the ambush.
Mr Zakariyyah did not identify the perpetrators of the attack but said it happened near where US troops and five Niger soldiers were killed two years ago.
A search operation, aided by French and American troops, who have a base in Niger, continues.
Niger is part of a five nation anti-insurgency force operating in the Sahel. It includes Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania.Niger is part of a five nation anti-insurgency force operating in the Sahel. It includes Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania.
The G5 Sahel, as it is called, is backed by a 3,000-strong French force.The G5 Sahel, as it is called, is backed by a 3,000-strong French force.
Call to attack French allies
By Louise Dewast, BBC West Africa correspondent
This was the deadliest attack recorded in western Niger, where government troops and their international allies are fighting affiliates of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
Authorities say it was a complex attack in which the militants planted improvised explosive devices. Despite years of heavy deployments of French, US and UN forces, the region - including Niger - remains a tinderbox.
The group called the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara has recently been subject to counter-militancy operations, mainly led by the French, making large-scale attacks against government troops difficult.
For one expert on the region, Héni Nsaibia, a researcher at The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data group, this attack could be the result of French forces shifting its focus to central Mali, and to the recent hostage-release operation in Burkina Faso which required attention and assets.
He adds it could also be that militants are heeding the call of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who in a recent audiovisual speech explicitly called on them to intensify attacks against France and its allies in the Sahel region.