Niger’s Defence Ministry on Sunday announced the death of fifteen soldiers and six more missing after a “terrorist” attack in southwest Niger, near the border with Burkina Faso.
The ministry disclosed that the soldiers were first ambushed and later hit by an Improvised Explosive Device as they tried to evacuate those wounded in the Saturday attack around 11:00 am (1000 GMT).
The statement added that the toll of the attack in the Torodi region is “15 soldiers killed, seven wounded and six missing,”
The statement added that with the help of military aircraft, Niger’s ground forces launched a “wide search of the area” in order to “apprehend the terrorists,”
Torodi is in the southwest of the Tillaberi region which lies along the borders of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali.
It is subject to frequent attacks by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), the largest terrorist alliance in the Sahel.
Some 33 villagers were killed in two separate attacks within the last week further north, towards the border with Mali.
The suspected attacks increasingly target civilians in the Tillaberi region, a vast, arid territory.