Niger security forces kill 57 Boko Haram militants

NIAMEY, Niger – Niger’s Ministry of Defence says security forces killed at least 57 Boko Haram Islamic extremists who had attacked a village in the eastern Diffa region overnight.

The ministry said Monday that 15 soldiers and two civilians were wounded in fighting with the extremists in Gueskerou, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Diffa. It said Niger security forces also seized a significant amount of arms and ammunition left behind by the militants.

Spokesman Col. Toure Abdoul Aziz said the Ministry of Defence, in the name of the president, congratulated security forces for gains against Nigerian-based Boko Haram extremists, whose seven-year insurgency has killed at least 20,000 people.

Niger contributes to the multi-national force set up to fight Boko Haram in the region.