Niger’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed that it has »neutralized» 79 suspected terrorists in an operation against armed groups in the area near the Mali border where 17 Nigerien soldiers were reportedly killed in February.
In a statement released on Friday, the Ministry confirmed an operation in the area of Tiloa, in the province of Banibangou, near the border with Mali and, according to the statement, »place of refuge of those responsible for the ambush of February 10».
In February, an attack on a patrol in the same province left 17 soldiers dead, twelve missing and twelve others wounded.
In this operation, which reported no casualties among the Nigerian military, more than one hundred motorcycles were also destroyed and numerous communication equipments were destroyed.
The country is facing a terrorist threat in the west from the Al Qaeda branch in Mali, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM), and Islamic State in the Sahel – formerly Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
Likewise, the region of Diffa, bathed by Lake Chad, is the scene of relatively frequent attacks by Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA).
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
