Niamey, June 26 (UNI) Twenty soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack in west Niger's Tillabery region, the Nigerien Ministry of Defence said.
At around 10 a.m. local time, a detachment of the Defence and Security Forces was attacked on Tuesday by a coalition of armed terrorist groups, on the outskirts of the village of Tassia, resulting in 21 deaths including 20 soldiers and a civilian, the ministry said in a press release.
Nine soldiers were injured and two army vehicles were damaged in the attack, the release said.
Several dozen terrorists were neutralized, and means of travel and communication destroyed, the ministry noted, adding that air and ground reinforcements were deployed to search for and destroy the rest of the attackers.
The village of Tassia is located in the "three borders" area (Niger-Mali-Burkina Faso), a new source of insecurity in the far southwest of the country, according to local media reports.
UNI/XINHUA ARN