Two Niger soldiers killed in Boko Haram attack

Boko Haram killed at least two soldiers and wounded seven others in a "surprise attack" on a military base in southeast Niger that began overnight, a local official said on Saturday.

Members of the Islamic State group affiliate arrived in "great numbers" on foot after crossing the Komadougou Yobe river at the Nigerian border, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The attack targeted a base in Geskerou in the Diffa region, with the assailants also torching three army vehicles. A security official confirmed the two soldiers were members of Niger's national guard based in Diffa, a Boko Haram stronghold close to the border with Nigeria.

In response, Niger launched air strikes, killing "many terrorists" as they fled through the marshes of Lake Chad, which straddles the central African countries of Niger, Chad, and Nigeria, the security source said. Another three Niger soldiers were killed on New Year's Eve when Boko Haram attacked their position at Baroua, also in the Diffa region, the military said.

Last month, the Niger government claimed that 50 Boko Haram fighters had surrendered, 31 of whom turned themselves in at Diffa.