At least 70 civilians killed in suspected militant attacks in Niger: Report
At least 70 civilians were killed in simultaneous attacks on two villages by suspected Islamist militants in Niger, near the border zone with Mali, security sources said on Saturday.
About 49 villagers were killed and 17 people wounded in the village of Tchombangou, said one of the security sources, who requested anonymity.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
A second source, a senior official in Niger's interior ministry who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that around 30 other villagers had been killed in the village of Zaroumdareye.
Niger's government was not immediately available to comment.
The West African nation has previously suffered attacks by Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS. Attacks near the western border with Mali and Burkina Faso, and the southeastern border with Nigeria, killed hundreds of people last year.
Read more:
Pakistan arrests key militant blamed for Mumbai attacks on terrorism financing charge
Three dead after terror attack on police in Russia’s Chechnyan capital Grozny
ISIS claims knife attack by two assailants in capital of Russia’s southern Chechnya
