Niger troops receiving training from the U.S. during Operation Flintlock repelled a large Boko Haram attack forcing the terrorists back across the border with Chad. (File photo)
An attack by hundreds of Boko Haram terrorist fighters against a military base in southern Niger on Tuesday resulted in the death of 16 soldiers and the wounding of nine more, the country’s defense ministry said.
The attack by the Islamic terrorist group targeted the town of Baroua in the Diffa region, where the military had set up an outpost to protect thousands of residents who had returned to the area in July after taking refuge elsewhere following rebel massacres in 2015.
The government said that they had beefed up security to provide the returning population with greater protection.
Although the casualties among the troops were high, the defense ministry claimed that the army killed 50 attackers and forced them back across the neighboring border of Chad while recovering significant quantities of weapons.
The government had moved more than 6,000 people in the area in late June. It is encouraging 26,000 more civilians, who have been displaced by terrorist attacks, to return back to Baroua. They had been living in UN camps or safer villages for the past six years.
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) Leader Reportedly Dead
The Diffa Youth also reported that Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), who led the ambush on American Special Forces troops in Niger in 2017 was killed on August 22. He had pledged his support to ISIS. He was designated as an international terrorist by the United States after the Niger ambush with a five-million-dollar bounty on his head.
An attack by hundreds of Boko Haram terrorist fighters against a military base in southern Niger on Tuesday resulted in the death of 16 soldiers and the wounding of nine more, the country’s defense ministry said.
The attack by the Islamic terrorist group targeted the town of Baroua in the Diffa region, where the military had set up an outpost to protect thousands of residents who had returned to the area in July after taking refuge elsewhere following rebel massacres in 2015.
The government said that they had beefed up security to provide the returning population with greater protection.
Although the casualties among the troops were high, the defense ministry claimed that the army killed 50 attackers and forced them back across the neighboring border of Chad while recovering significant quantities of weapons.
The government had moved more than 6,000 people in the area in late June. It is encouraging 26,000 more civilians, who have been displaced by terrorist attacks, to return back to Baroua. They had been living in UN camps or safer villages for the past six years.
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) Leader Reportedly Dead
The Diffa Youth also reported that Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, the leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), who led the ambush on American Special Forces troops in Niger in 2017 was killed on August 22. He had pledged his support to ISIS. He was designated as an international terrorist by the United States after the Niger ambush with a five-million-dollar bounty on his head.
The reports of his death have not yet been confirmed.
Niger has been the subject of attacks from the south by Boko Haram and the Islamic State. The country’s western regions are also beleaguered by insurgent groups from Mali and Burkina Faso. These include JNIM, Islamic State West Africa (ISWA), Islamic State Greater Sahara (ISGS), al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), as well as Boko Haram.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed in terrorist attacks in Niger this year alone.
The restive Diffa region is home to more than 300,000 displaced persons fleeing the violence from Niger and Nigeria.
Niger is considered the poorest country in the world according to the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI).
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