MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2021) At least twelve soldiers were killed and eight others were injured in western Niger during a militant attack, according to the country's defense ministry.
The attack was carried out by "hundreds of armed terrorists" on Saturday near the village of Fantio in Niger's Tera department, the ministry said on Sunday, as quoted by Actu Niger.
The dispatched military forces eliminated "dozens" of militants and destroyed "several of their motorcycles," the defense ministry said. Nonetheless, twelve soldiers were killed and eight others were wounded in the attack.
Niger is located in the region of Sahel, notorious for terrorist activity and illegal migration, and has been enmeshed in a serious security crisis over Islamic insurgency and related jihadist activities.
In 2014, France launched Operation Barkhane in the Sahel. It is being held jointly with the military forces of the G5 Sahel bloc that includes Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mauritania.
