Twelve Niger soldiers killed in attack, two suspects detained

27/4/2025 6:24

Twelve Nigerien soldiers have been killed in an attack in the west of the Sahel country and two suspects have been arrested, the army said in a statement seen by Reuters on Saturday.



The attack took place on Friday near the tri-border region of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, epicentre of a jihadist insurgency in West Africa linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.



Armed men on Friday launched a "surprise offensive" on a military unit out on a mission about 10 km (six miles) north of the village of Sakoira, the statement said, referring to the assailants as terrorists.



sIt did not elaborate on the likely identity of the assailants but last month Niger 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.