The Nigerien army has announced that 7 Nigerien soldiers were killed and two were wounded on Thursday night when a mine exploded in their vehicle in the Diffa region (south-east).
A statement from Niger’s armed forces stated that the explosion occurred at around 01:00 local time (midnight GMT) when a military patrol vehicle “hit an explosive device 400 metres from the Chétimari Wangou military post”.
The same source added that the injured soldiers were evacuated to Diffa hospital. In addition, Diffa is located in the Lake Chad basin, which has been the scene of attacks by Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), since 2015.
According to a security source, although the number of attacks has fallen relatively since the beginning of the year, the mines continue to claim victims.
In July 2015, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon set up a Mixed Multinational Force (MMF) of 8,500 men to fight armed jihadist groups. Last January, with the support of an American drone, this force carried out ground and air operations against ISWAP bases in the Matari forest (Nigeria), from which they carry out attacks in neighbouring Niger.