Dozens die in extremist attack in Niger

About 100 Islamist militants ambushed an army camp and killed 71 soldiers in western Niger. The three-hour assault was the deadliest terror attack on Nigerien forces in years. About a dozen other soldiers sustained injuries during the overnight assault, army spokesman Col. Boukar Hassan said on Wednesday.

Who were the attackers? No terror group claimed responsibility, but insurgents connected to al-Qaeda and Islamic State operate throughout Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. They have increasingly attacked military camps, forcing neighboring Mali to close some of its remote army outposts. Three Nigerien soldiers died when militants attacked a military base in nearby Tahoua a day earlier.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift from 2017 on the killing of three U.S. soldiers in Niger.