13 jihadists and four civilians killed in battle with army

Boko Haram fighters ambush military convoy – Eight more injured

Thirteen members of the Islamic State in West Africa (IKDA) were killed in a battle with the army on Tuesday, while four civilians were “executed” by jihadists in southeastern Niger, it was announced on Thursday.

“On Tuesday, June 29, 2021 around 18:00 (local time; 20:00 Greek time), Boko Haram fighters (IKDA) riding in ten vehicles ambushed a military convoy on the axis Difa-Mene Soroa. “The attack failed thanks to the bravery of our ground and air forces,” he said in a press release issued by the Joint Multinational Force (NPT), in which troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger are contributing.

Before the battle, the jihadists stopped a bus and attacked “peaceful villagers”, according to the statement.

Report: “four civilians were executed by the enemy”, among them the bus driver, two residents and the mayor. According to the announcement, there are also eight wounded , two civilians and eight soldiers.

“In the enemy ranks,” added ” the 13th terrorists neutralized” (SS killed) and confiscated four AK-47 rifles, one machine gun caliber 12.7 mm and “a large quantity of ammunition.”

Jihadists from Nigeria have intensified attacks since May in this part of Niger, on the shores of Lake Chad, and in Difa, its largest city.

On June 22, the Nigerian army repulsed an attack it said Boko Haram had killed and killed three members in Boso, in the southeastern part of the country. The attack came two days after 6,500 people returned to the Barua community, very close to Bosso. It was abandoned in 2015 due to jihadist attacks.

The Boko Haram had committed its first attack on the territory of Niger on February 6, 2015 against the slack. Nigerian President Mohamed Bazum has been in Difa since Thursday morning to oversee the return of displaced people to their communities.

The region is home to some 300,000 Nigerian refugees and displaced Nigerians , according to UN estimates. In addition to Boko Haram and IKDA attacks in its southeast, Niger is also facing jihadist organizations operating in the Sahel, including the Islamic State of the Sahara (IS) in its western part.