The border area between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso has long been a hideout for jihadists linked to the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda, who have waged a bloody insurgent war against the government.
Niger is one of several countries in Africa's Sahel region where the army has seized power in recent years.
"An attack did take place two days ago (Sunday) against the Eknewan military position," a local source, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
"There were deaths among the defence and security forces," the source added, without giving details.
On Monday, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement that it had killed about 40 members of the Nigerien forces -- a figure that AFP was unable to verify independently.
Since coming to power in a July 2023 coup, Niger's military rulers have shared little information on jihadist attacks, particularly in the tri-border area with Burkina Faso and Mali.
According to the state-owned daily Le Sahel, the leader of the military junta, General Abdourahamane Tiani, appointed on Monday a new governor for the Tahoua region in which the attack took place.
In recent weeks, the area has hosted military exercises involving the armies of the Alliance of Sahel States -- Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso -- along with those of Chad and Togo, according to state television.
Since coming to power, the junta has moved closer to neighbouring Burkina and Mali, also governed by military leaders.
It expelled French and US soldiers engaged in the fight against jihadism from its soil, while the United States handed over to Niger its drone base in the north of the country in March last year.
Jihadists ambush Mozambique army outpost, killing soldiers: military sources
Pemba, Mozambique (AFP) May 28, 2025 -
An attack on a military base in northern Mozambique killed multiple soldiers, local military sources told AFP on Wednesday, underscoring spiralling insecurity in the southern African country.
The region has been hit by a number of strikes this month as energy giant TotalEnergies readies to resume its liquefied natural gas project in the insurgency hotbed Cabo Delgado province.
The army base near Macomia, a district in Cabo Delgado, came under attack on Tuesday by Islamic State insurgents, a Mozambican military officer said.
"There was a strong clash, casualties on both sides and more than 10 among the insurgents," he said on condition of anonymity because he was was not authorised to brief the media.
The Islamic State (IS) claimed the attack via its communication channels and said it had killed 10 government soldiers.
The group is known to exaggerate claims of battlefield operations for propaganda purposes.
"This base is a military position with significant numbers of troops, they were bold to attack it," the military source said.
Earlier this month, IS also claimed an attack that killed 11 soldiers in Cabo Delgado. A security expert put the toll at 17. The Mozambique military did not comment publicly.
The attack followed one where three Rwandan soldiers were killed in area and another where two rangers were slaughtered on a game reserve in neighbouring Niassa province.
The successive attacks are the latest uptick in clashes in an area blighted for years by jihadist violence that has killed thousands of people and uprooted over a million from their homes.
It forced the suspension of the giant gas exploration project by TotalEnergies in 2021 after militants attacked the port town of Palma in an assault that lasted several days, sending thousands of people fleeing into the surrounding forest.
The attack left a colossal toll of 1,402 civilians dead or missing, according to independent journalist Alex Perry.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said last Friday that the situation had "greatly improved" but conceded "this does not mean that there are not sporadic incidents".
More than 6,000 people have died since the start of the insurgency in 2017, according to conflict tracker organisation ACLED.
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