Niger: Landmine blast kills seven soldiers

A landmine exploded Sunday killing seven soldiers of Niger’s army, near border with Burkina Faso.

The incident took place late Sunday morning. A vehicle carrying supplies on a weekly delivery run hit the mine six kilometers from Samira village, western Tillaberi region, the National Guard of Niger (GNN) was quoted by the media as saying.

The village, which lies not far from Niger’s border with Burkina Faso in the southwest, has since 2004 hosted the country’s only industrial-scale gold mine.

This assault was just the latest in a series of attacks against Niger’s soldiers. Niger is facing insurgency in western Tillaberi region, near the border with Burkina Faso and Mali. The region has been plagued by insecurity sown by terrorist groups including al Qaeda affiliates.

The Nigerien army is also fighting Boko Haram activists near the border with Nigeria.