NIAMEY, Niger — Niger’s army says it has killed 15 Boko Haram Islamic extremists and captured 20 others.
Army spokesman Col. Michel Moustapha Ledru said on state TV late Wednesday night that the army also destroyed ammunition, cars and motorcycles from the militants. He said Boko Haram members had attacked the village of Yebbi in the Diffa region Tuesday night, killing five residents and burning more than 100 homes.
The Nigerian extremist group began launching cross border attacks this year after international forces, including Niger’s army, began fighting the insurgency. Attacks last week in two villages in Niger left more than 40 people dead.
Boko Haram’s six-year-old uprising, which began in northeastern Nigeria, is blamed for the deaths of 13,000 people and the displacement of more than 1.5 million.
