Niger: Army killed 11 terrorists, arrested 6

The Nigerien army announced Tuesday it has killed 11 terrorists and arrested 6, in a restive region, near Burkina Faso, during offensive operations.

The operations were conducted in the western Tillaberi region. The armed forces also seized weapons and more than 130 motorcycles, the army said.

The region, near the border with Burkina Faso and Mali, has been plagued by insecurity sown by terrorist groups including al Qaeda affiliates. The ministry of defense of the West African country has recently multiplied offensive operations against jihadists in the area, with the backing of 250 soldiers from France.

The army has indicated that anti-jihadist force Niya, which has been deployed in western Niger since February last year and has more than 2,000 personnel, suffered two injuries in the operations.

The army also claimed to have dismantled a fuel-trafficking network suspected of supplying the armed groups.