Al-Azhar Observatory: Attack Calls for Concerted Local and Regional Efforts to Thwart Destructive Plans of Extremist Organizations
The Nigerien Ministry of Defense announced that gunmen killed at least 23 soldiers and wounded 17 others in an attack on a military unit in the northwestern corner of the country. According to the Ministry’s statement, more than 100 gunmen on motorcycles and vehicles used explosive devices and suicide bombs to ambush the military unit while it was returning from an operation in the Tillabéri region, which is experiencing a rebellion.
The ministry said in a statement that about 30 of the perpetrators were killed in an exchange of fire with the Nigerien army between the towns of Tigué and Bani Bangou, noting that the army unit that was targeted in the attack was on a routine combing operation to inspect the security situation in the area.
The terrorist organization ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement carried by its media platform on its Telegram channel.
For its part, the Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism emphasizes that the danger of the attack lies in opening the door to a state of instability in a country that has barely recovered from crises and heavy losses due to the terrorist organizations operating on its territory. The matter that requires concerted local and regional efforts to thwart the destructive plans of these extremist organizations.
