The Nigerian army announced on Thursday that six of its soldiers were killed this week in a bomb explosion in the Inates region near Mali, confirming that it subsequently launched air strikes on both sides of the border that led to the “neutralization” of at least ten “terrorists.”
The six soldiers were killed “at the beginning of the week” when their vehicle “returning from Inates” passed over a mine near the village of Tingara (southwest), as the Nigerian Ministry of Defense explained in its latest bulletin.
The ministry added that other soldiers were wounded and evacuated by helicopter to Niamey.
The ministry added that aerial reconnaissance made it possible to “find the three terrorists involved” in this “cowardly act,” explaining that “they were tracked to a small village” where they joined “about twenty other partners.”
She said that an “air strike” was then launched, which led to the “neutralization” (killing) of many of them and the destruction of logistical equipment.
At the same time, another air strike targeted a “group of terrorists” in the Amaulao region in Mali, allowing “at least eight fighters to be neutralized” and “equipment destroyed,” the ministry’s bulletin said.
Inates is located in the Tillaberi region, which has become a stronghold for militants in the Sahel region, including the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.
