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                  At Least 19 Soldiers Killed in Niger Attack

   by VOA News

   Niger's government said at least 19 soldiers were killed Thursday in a
   gunbattle that followed twin bombings at a military base and a
   French-owned uranium mine.
   Security officials said the car bomb attack occurred outside a military
   barracks in the town of Agadez, located about 800 kilometers northwest
   of the capital, Niamey.
   A government spokesman said several attackers emerged from the car
   before it exploded, sparking a firefight with troops.  The spokesman
   said at least five attackers were killed and that at least one was
   being pursued by troops.
   Shortly after the military base attack, a second car bomb was detonated
   at the uranium mine in Arlit, a mainly industrial town north of
   Agadez.  Paris-based Areva says 13 of its employees were wounded in the
   attack.  One of them was reported in serious condition.
   The French news agency (AFP) reports that the Malian Islamist group
   MUJAO (the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa) claimed
   responsibility for the bombings.
   The militant group has claimed responsibility for a series of suicide
   bombings and kidnappings across the region and was one of several
   Islamist groups that occupied northern Mali, with which Niger shares a
   border.
   The MUJAO group is believed to have Mauritanian leadership but is said
   to have drawn militants from many West African nations.
   Niger has contributed troops to a West African force fighting Islamist
   insurgents in Mali.  Islamist fighters have carried out several attacks
   in the region in retaliation for the offensive, which initially was led
   by France.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/at-least-19-soldiers-killed-in-niger-attack/1666797.html