Barely a week after 16 soldiers and top military officers were killed in Okuama in Delta State by civilian youths, 23 other soldiers have been reportedly killed in a “terrorist” ambush in western Niger during an offensive attack near the border with Burkina Faso and Mali.
It was learnt that 17 others were wounded in the fierce ambush.
In a statement today, March 22, the Defence Ministry said that the soldiers were engaged in a security sweep in Tillaberi, in the three borders area, on Wednesday and yesterday and were allegedly killed during a “complex ambush.”
The statement however that about 30 terrorists were killed in the battle field.
According to the Ministry, the army raids were “designed to reassure local people” who were being targeted by armed groups engaged in “murders, extortion and cattle rustling”.
The statement said that more than 100 “terrorists” have attacked an army unit between Teguey and Bankilare using “home-made bombs and suicide vehicles.”
