nternational passengers arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles - REUTERSWASHINGTON - 31 October 2017: The US State Department on Monday urged the US citizens not to travel to Niger or surrounding area in a travel warning that cited kidnappings by terrorist organizations, The Hill reported. "Terrorist organizations, armed groups, and smugglers operate in the areas bordering Mali, Libya, and throughout northern Niger,” the travel warning said. "Mali-based extremist groups have crossed the border and carried out multiple lethal attacks on Nigerien security forces (FDS) and on US forces assisting the FDS. "The travel warning cited al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Daesh affiliates in the Sahara, Libya, and West Africa and Boko Haram.The announcement from the State Department comes weeks after four US Green Berets were killed in Niger when militants ambushed them and Nigerien troops. "Defeating terrorism depends on making sure terrorist organizations cannot have safe havens on any continent," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement Monday.

Source: Egypt Today October 30, 2017 23:03 UTC