AMN
Unidentified gunmen have killed 16 soldiers and injured six others in an ambush in southwest part of the Niger. The attack on an army patrol occurred on Saturday afternoon in the Tahoua region of the West African country. It is unclear who carried out the attack, but the area is overrun by terrorist groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
The vast desert area of Tahoua in west Niger near the borders of Mali and Burkina Faso has been plagued by violence since 2012.
In March, an attack by rebel fighters on three villages near Niger’s border with Mali left a total of 141 people dead. They were the worst attacks committed by armed groups in Niger in recent years.