It was unclear who fired on the US and US-backed forces, the official said. A spokesman for US Africa Command confirmed the attack after Radio France International (RFI) reported a lethal ambush near the Niger/Mali border. "We can confirm reports that a joint US and Nigerien patrol came under hostile fire in southwest Niger," said the spokesman. Namatta Abubacar, an official for the region of Tillaberi in Niger, said five Nigerien soldiers were among the dead. A relatively new militant group called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara has claimed some of the attacks.

Source: bd News24 October 05, 2017 00:45 UTC