Five soldiers were killed and four were missing following an attack in southwest Niger close to the border with Mali today, a security source told AFP.
"This terrorist attack against the area of Banibangou killed five soldiers, injured three and four others were reported missing," said the source, who requested anonymity.
Niger's long, porous borders make it vulnerable to the armed violence plaguing its neighbours.
A Niger official also confirmed the attack which happened around 4:00 am (local time).
Twenty-two of Niger's soldiers were killed last month when armed men who had travelled from Mali launched an attack on a refugee camp in the western Niger town of Tazalit.
Northern Mali fell under the control of Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist groups in 2012. A French-led military intervention pushed them out, but swathes of the country remain out of government control and awash with armed groups.
Niger also faces constant raids in the south by Nigeria-based jihadist group Boko Haram.
A US aid worker was abducted from his home in central Niger last month.
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