At least a dozen Niger soldiers were killed following an attack by hundreds of armed insurgents on motorbikes in the country's southwest, reports Canberra Times.
In a statement on Friday, the West African nation's defence ministry said, seven soldiers were killed in combat while five others died in an accident while driving to reinforce the unit that had come under attack on Thursday morning.
The attack took place about 190km from the capital Niamey in Kandadji, near the tri-border zone of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that has been the epicentre of Islamist insurgencies in the Sahel region in the last few years.
Earlier on Thursday, three sources including a senior military officer, who requested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media, told news agency Reuters that at least ten soldiers were killed.
Neither the sources nor the defence ministry say which group was responsible for the attack.
Local affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State are active in the region and wage frequent attacks on soldiers and civilians.
The defence ministry said around a hundred insurgents were killed and their motorbikes and arms were destroyed.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
