Niamey, 11 Feb. Ten Nigerien soldiers died and thirteen were injured in an ambush on Friday by terrorist groups against a military patrol in the north of Banibangou, in the Tillabéri region in northwestern Niger, the Nigerian Ministry of Health reported on Saturday. Defense.
The ambush occurred in the locality of Tiloa on the border between Niger and Mali and targeted the military operation Almahaou, explained the same source, adding that 16 soldiers disappeared and several vehicles of the Defense Forces and security (FDS) were destroyed.
The Nigerian military patrol was made up of at least 14 vehicles, the note said, adding that the clashes “were violent, forcing the attackers to retreat towards the neighboring country”.
“As for the enemies, the toll has not yet been determined. But several bodies were taken away by the enemies after their withdrawal,” he said.
The terrorist commando that set up the ambush is made up of members of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, a security source in the region explained in a telephone conversation with EFE.
This is the first attack on a military patrol causing a large number of casualties since the arrival last year of French counter-terrorist forces from Barkhane in the Nigerian border area with Mali to support Operation Almahaou. ECE
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