DAKAR, March 10 (Bernama) — Eight soldiers are dead and three others are missing in northeastern Niger following an attack by Boko Haram on an army camp, Anadolu Agency quoted the country’s defense minister as saying on Tuesday.
Speaking to media outlets, Issoufou Katambe said Boko Haram terrorists targeted the Chetima Wongou military camp in the Diffa region with a 20-vehicle convoy and heavy weaponry.
Katambe said many of the terrorists were neutralized.
The army seized one of the vehicles used by the terrorists and destroyed another and the Multinational Joint Task Force hit the remaining vehicles, which escaped over the border into Nigeria, according to Katambe.
Diffa has been under a state of emergency for the past five years since Boko Haram launched a military campaign in February 2015.
The terror group has had a presence in Nigeria since the early 2000s and has killed more than 20,000 people since 2009. It has carried out attacks in Cameroon, Chad and Niger since 2015.
Source : BERNAMA