At least 17 soldiers of the Nigerien National Gendarmerie were killed on Wednesday in a complex and coordinated attack by fighters of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) on a security position in Garbougna, located along the Terra?Niamey axis.

Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the assault, launched in the early afternoon, involved heavily armed militants who overwhelmed the gendarmerie post with a combination of direct fire, improvised explosive devices and manoeuvre tactics.

The preliminary casualty report indicates that 17 personnel, including the team leader, a captain, were killed, while 34 others sustained serious injuries.

Several soldiers were also reported missing following the raid.

The attackers reportedly destroyed multiple operational vehicles and made away with others. They also seized military equipment and weapons before withdrawing from the location.

Reinforcement teams were deployed to the area shortly after the incident, while aerial surveillance was activated to track the fleeing assailants.

Wednesday?s attack adds to the rising wave of coordinated assaults by EIGS and other extremist groups operating across Niger?s tri-border region, where security forces remain heavily engaged in counter-terrorism operations. (Zagazola, but headline rejigged)

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