Niger: At least 5 soldiers killed in terrorist attack

NIAMEY, Niger

At least five Nigerien soldiers were killed and three others injured early Tuesday in a terrorist attack in the southwestern part of the country, a military source told Anadolu Agency.

"The attack was perpetrated by numerous assailants aboard vehicles and motorbikes," the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The attack targeted the town of Banibagou, 200 km from capital Niamey, witnesses said.

"We started hearing gunshots at around 5 a.m. (0400 GMT). It lasted nearly two hours," Sorka Issaka, director of Banibagou School Complex said.

Nigerien authorities did not immediately comment on the incident.

The incursion came just a month after terrorists attacked a Malian refugee camp in Tazalit and killed 22 Nigerien soldiers.

Three weeks ago Daesh claimed an attack on a maximum security prison in Koutoukale that houses high-profile terrorists, according to Mauritanian news agency, Al-Akhbar.

In October, an American aid worker was kidnapped in the country by unidentified gunmen who fled to Mali.

Niger has suffered several deadly attacks in recent months especially in the Diffa region perpetrated by Boko Haram. In July, 38 civilians, including 10 children, were massacred in villages near Diffa.

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou told the UN General Assembly last September that the UN needed "to step up measures to tackle terrorism" in the region.

Niger is part of a military coalition with Chad, Benin, Cameroon and Nigeria to combat Boko Haram.