Niger security forces killed 57 members of militant group Boko Haram who attacked a village in the southeastern Diffa region overnight, the defence ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Fifteen soldiers and two civilians were wounded during the attack by heavily armed men in Gueskerou village, which is around 30 km (22 miles) northeast of Diffa town, it said.
"Among the enemy there were 57 terrorists killed, a Toyota pick-up recovered along with a 60 mm mortar, two RPG 7s (rocket propelled grenade launchers), five machine guns, 20 AK-47s and a lot of ammunition," the statement said. The report could not be independently confirmed.
Boko Haram has killed 15,000 people and displaced more than two million during a seven-year insurgency aimed at creating a state in Nigeria. A regional force that includes troops from Niger has retaken much of its territory in the last two years.
In recent years its attacks have spilled into neighbouring Niger, Cameroon and Chad.
-
Tim Hortons to hire 10,000 local workers amid shift away from TFW programme -
Protesters block ICE vehicles outside New Jersey detention centre amid hunger strike -
Russia plans major strikes on Kyiv defence sites, warns foreigners to leave -
Trump says Iranian uranium should be destroyed under US supervision -
US strikes Iran missile sites near Strait of Hormuz, calls it 'self-defence' -
Spanish national tests positive for hantavirus after evacuating cruise ship -
UK hits record high temperatures in May as heatwave scorches country -
DOJ seeks court relief to resume White House Ballroom project after shooting
-
Pope Leo XIV apologises for Church's historic role in slavery calls it a 'moral failure' -
New Orleans residents are being urged to begin relocating now over sea level rise
-
Three killed, four injured after bus crashes into elephant in Africa
-
Iran says Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei suffered only minor injuries in February strike
