According to the Niger army, more than 100 “terrorists” were killed in deadly attack

The Nigerian army said on Thursday it had killed more than 100 “terrorists” in air and ground operations in response to a deadly attack on soldiers near the border with Burkina Faso.

A coalition of armed groups killed 20 soldiers and one civilian on June 25 in the Tera region of jihadist-hit western Niger, the army said.

“Since then, more than 100 terrorists have been killed,” the army said in its latest bulletin, adding that its operations were ongoing.

The army had stated in its previous bulletin that it had killed around 30 “terrorists” in the region the day after the Tera attack and “destroyed their war resources” in an air strike.

Tera is located in the Tillaberi region on the border with Mali and Burkina Faso, where rebels with links to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have been waging a bloody insurgency for nearly a decade.

In the region, civilians are frequently attacked by jihadists, causing many people to flee their homes.

Trucks from Niger also pass through Tera. They arrive every month via the north of Burkina Faso from the Togolese port city of Lomé.