At least 23 Niger soldiers killed in ambush, defence ministry says

Militants killed at least 23 Nigerien soldiers and wounded 17 more during an attack on a military unit in the northwestern corner of the country on Wednesday, the defence ministry said. More than 100 armed men on motorbikes and in vehicles used improvised explosive devices and suicide bombs to ambush the military unit as it was making its way back from an operation in the insurgency-hit Tillaberi region. Niger is one of several West African countries battling an Islamist insurgency that has spread outwards from Mali over the past 12 years, killing thousands and uprooting millions of people.