Fifteen soldiers have been murdered in an ambush in Niger. Niger's defence ministry described it as a "terrorist attack" in the south-west of the country, near the border with Burkina Faso. It said soldiers in the Torodi area of the Tillaberi region were ambushed and then hit by an improvised explosive device. Seven soldiers were wounded and six are missing. Jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are active in the border region shared by Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. More than 30 villagers were killed in two separate attacks within the last week further north.
The assailants ambushed a supply mission at 1100 local time in Torodi commune after which soldiers evacuating the wounded hit an improvised explosive, the ministry said late on Sunday.
"We regret that unfortunately 15 soldiers were killed, seven were wounded and six are missing," it said.
Ground forces backed by military aircraft are searching the area.
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