French and African media said that 8 Niger army soldiers were killed and 6 others were killed, during attacks by jihadists on multiple sites of armed forces in the Doso area south of Niger.
The attacks occurred simultaneously at dawn last Sunday near the town of Duchi, which is 275 km from the capital, Niamey.
France International Radio said that the militants belonging to the Islamic State carried out 4 simultaneous attacks on 3 rural municipalities: Dan Kassari, Soukukotan, and Kiriaia.
These areas are located on the axis of the border road leading to Mali, where the jihadist and separatist armed groups are largely.
This is the first time that the militants target the bases of the Nigerian army in the southern regions adjacent to the state of Mali.
The gunmen were crossing these areas to provide fuel and food, but the Nigerian army recently carried out monitored patrols on these villages.
Increased attacks
In the recent period, terrorist operations in Niger increased, as armed men at the beginning of last April launched attacks on several villages in the Tellabiri area, about 100 km southwest of the capital, Niamey.
In the past weeks, groups have appeared on social media that appeal to the Military Council to intervene to protect them from the threats of armed men in the border areas with Burkina Faso.
In the north of the country, especially in the oil -rich and mineral area, armed men last April carried out operations targeting the army and Western nationals, including the kidnapping of a Swiss citizen.
Observers are afraid of the deterioration of the security situation in the state of Niger, especially after the departure of the American forces, which were conducting reconnaissance and monitoring operations with the flying.
The vast desert of the country is a suitable place to move armed groups by virtue of geography and borders adjacent to Algeria, Libya and Nigeria.
