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The attack was carred out around 9 a.m. Thursday in Banibangou
by attackers using eight vehicles and more than 200 motorbikes,
the ministry said in a statement.
The government said its forces killed dozens of attackers it
called “terrorists,” adding that search operations by land and
air were being conduted to find additional assailants.
Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for
more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by jihadi
groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic
State group.
Following military coups in the three nations in recent years,
the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to
Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance. The three
countries have vowed to strengthen their cooperation by
establishing a new security alliance, the Alliance of Sahel
States.
But the security situation in the Sahel, a vast region on the
fringes of the Sahara Desert, has significantly worsened since
the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of
attacks and civilians killed by Islamic militants and government
forces.
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