Friday, February 24, 2017

Niger: Military patrol attacked, 15 soldiers killed, 19 injured.

(NIAMEY)  Fifteen soldiers were killed and 19 wounded in an attack, Wednesday by "Islamic terrorists" near the village of Interzawane in the Tillaberi region in western Niger near the border with Mali. Colonel Toure Seydou Albdoula Aziz, the Niger army spokesman stated:
"A Niger army patrol was attacked by terrorist elements at 1500 GMT north of Tilwa We have 15 dead and 19 wounded in our ranks," 
 The attack follows an agreement earlier this month among the presidents of five countries- Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Chad- in Africa's vast Sahel region, including Niger, to set up a joint counterterrorism force in which to combat numerous extremist groups, including Boko Haram and others that have been linked to al-Qaida.