Two soldiers and a civilian have been killed in Niger in a fresh suspected jihadist attack in the restive region of Tillaberi, the defence ministry said.
The attack was carried out by “terrorists on some 20 motorcycles” in the Tabala village, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the capital Niamey, according to a ministry statement released late on Wednesday.
Three attackers were also left dead in the clash on Wednesday, and authorities were searching for the rest, the statement said.
It marked the second attack in a week in the region, after armed bandits killed around 20 people in another village in the Tillaberi earlier this week, public radio reported on Wednesday.
The region has been plagued for years by rebels linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
Tillaberi is in the vast and unstable “three borders” region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, where insurgents have carried out attacks for years despite the massive deployment of anti-jihadist forces.
Niger is ruled by military leaders who seized power in a July coup, citing a worsening security situation as justification for the power grab.
Niamey also faces violence by Boko Haram jihadists and their rivals, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), from the southeastern region of Diffa near Nigeria.
