Five soldiers from Niger and three U.S. Army Special Forces were killed while others were injured in an ambush on a joint patrol in southwest Niger yesterday night.
A spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command confirmed the attack to Radio France International (RFI) by telephone.
“We can confirm reports that a joint U.S. and Nigerien patrol came under hostile fire in southwest Niger,” the spokesman said.
An official in the Western African nation’s Tillaberi region, Namatta Abubacar, told Niger TV that five Nigerien soldiers were among the dead.
A statement issued by U.S. Africa Command said, “A joint U.S. and Nigerien patrol came under hostile fire in southwest Niger.”
It added, “U.S. forces are in Niger to provide training and security assistance to the Nigerien armed forces including support for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance efforts to target violent extremist organizations in the region.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but the area is largely controlled by insurgents, including members of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Daesh.
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