Extremist attack kills at least 12 soldiers in Niger as jihadi violence increases post-coup

By DALATOU MAMANE and SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger’s military junta says an attack by Islamic extremists in western Niger killed at least a dozen soldiers and wounded seven others. The West African nation’s defense minister says the soldiers were on a mission in the Tillaberi region town of Kandadji when hundreds of jihadis on motorcycles attacked them Thursday. The junta claimed that military personnel killed a hundred extremists and destroyed their motorcycles and weapons. The Associated Press wasn’t able to independently verify the claim. Niger has battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for years. Attacks have increased since mutinous soldiers toppled the country’s democratically elected president in July.